Captured
by TMITID
Summary: She looked back up hesitantly into his black, lifeless eyes. Looked up at the one person she never wanted to see again. Her brother. Sebastian. Set after COLS. First ever fanfiction, so sorry if it sucks.
1. Gold Sparks and Black Holes

**Captured **

**Chapter 1 – Gold Sparks and Black Holes **

Clary sat in her room at the Institute sketching in her notepad; trying to draw Jace even though she could never get his features just right on paper. For what seemed like the hundredth time, she crumpled up her paper and threw it on the wooden floor along with the others. She heard laughter coming from the door, and looked up to see Jace standing in the door frame. The dim light in the room catching the gold sparks in his eyes.

"What?" Clary said, obviously frustrated.

"Nothing," he replied, with a smirk on his face. "You just look so adorable when you're frustrated." Clary just gave him a death glare from across the room telling him to shut up. "What are you trying to do?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's embarrassing, just forget it," she replied looking down at the ground. Jace walked away from the door frame and bent down to pick up a ball of paper. "No, Jace really-" but it was too late, he smirked as he took a look at her drawings, that same smirk that she fell in love with the first day she met him. He walked over and sat on the bed with her; still staring at the drawing that was obviously supposed to be him.

"This is really good, Clary," he said.

"No it's not; I can never draw you right on paper," she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know, I know. It is incredibly hard to put all this," he said gesturing to himself, "all on one little piece of paper. I mean, I'm stunning, aren't I?"

"Of course you are," she muttered under her breath. She looked down at her feet nervously, which were dangling next to Jace's off the side of the bed. Jace placed the drawing down and looked at her intently, while grabbing her shoulders.

"Are you okay?"Jace asked her, with worry written all over his face, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Clary?" he asked again, his voice tighter than before. She looked up at him, and her piercing green eyes had a glassy look to them. A tear rolled down her cheek, and Jace pulled her in for a hug, trying to sooth her with his embrace. "What's wrong Clary?" he asked again, still hugging her tightly; her face against his chest.

She looked up at him again, and he noticed that there were bags under her eyes. "I am scared Jace," she said, sounding like she were about to burst out in tears again. He looked at her with questioning in his eyes, telling her to go on. "Ever since Sebastian left that note in the library I've had troubles sleeping and I've been stressing out, a-and I am just s-so scared that he's going to come back." She said the last part in a whisper, but Jace could still hear her.

"You know that I would never let anything happen to you. He will never touch you okay?" he said, but she just shook her head and refused to meet his gaze again.

"I'm not just scared about myself Jace," she whispered, looking up at his golden eyes. "I'm scared about him hurting you, Izzy, Alec, Simon, Magnus, anyone. It terrifies me that you all could get hurt because of me; because of my stupid psychotic brother." He hugged her once again, his head resting on top of hers, and their legs tangled together by the edge of the bed.

"No one blames you, Clary. You've become a part of our family, and we all love you so much," he said, as he pulled away from her once again. "Me especially," he said with a smirk on his face. She shakily let out a laugh.

"I love you so much," she said, with small smile on her face.

"I love you to," he replied, and tilted his head down to kiss her. It was a small kiss, nothing special, but it still made Clary feel as though there were butterflies in her stomach. In the middle of the kiss they heard footsteps at the door and they sprung apart instantly.

"Oh my god," Izzy said, while her hands were covering her eyes. She looked stunning as always in her black shadowhunting gear and her high heeled boots. "You guys need to learn to close the doors. You are so lucky it is me and not mom who came in here." She removed her hands from her eyes and placed them on her hips; giving them a glare and a smirk.

"What do you want Isabelle?" Jace replied, "As you can see we," pointing between himself and Clary, "were in the middle of something."

"Look there was a report of demons downtown, and Alec wants to go." Izzy said.

Jace sighed and looked from Isabelle back down to Clary. He put his hand against her cheek. "I have to go," he said with a sad smile on his face, "but I promise that when I get back that we can finish where we left off." He whispered with a smirk.

Clary narrowed her determined eyes at him. "Why can't I go?" she asked, the stubbornness coming out in her voice.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Clary. You're still in training and I don't want to risk it yet." He replied. She sighed and then gestured towards the door, which indicated that he could go. He smiled and stood up; kissing her on the forehead. "I love you." He said before running out the door to get ready.

"He'll be fine Clary, we'll all be fine, we always are." Izzy said from the doorway, noticing Clary's anxious look.

"I know, but you can't blame me for worrying sometimes. I just hate sitting here doing nothing, I feel completely useless," she sighed inwardly.

"I get it, but you know it's just Jace being…well Jace," she chuckled, "you know he's over-protective and would do anything to keep you safe." Clary nodded and waved goodbye to Izzy as she left the room to find her brothers. Clary picked up her sketchpad one more time and attempted to draw Jace once again.

After an hour of waiting for Alec, Isabelle, and Jace to come back Clary put her sketchbook down on the bed, feeling somewhat satisfied with her drawing of Jace. She left her room and was automatically drawn to the heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. Once she had walked to the kitchen, she peered in and saw Maryse cooking. "Maryse, that smells amazing!" Clary exclaimed.

"Oh, thank you, I was just trying to make something for Jace, Alec, and Isabelle for when they come back. They're always hungry these days," she replied, laughing lightly. Clary nodded and then went to sit down at the table in the kitchen. Maryse took her apron off and turned around to look at Clary with an anxious look on her face. "I was just about to run to the store. Is that okay? Are you comfortable with being alone for about ten minutes?" she asked.

The truth was that Clary was horrified with being left in the Institute alone with what just happened, but she didn't want to make things harder for anyone else so she just agreed. "I'm fine Maryse. I mean Jace and the others should be home soon anyways."

"Okay, thank you," she said, while grabbing her keys and purse, "I will be back very soon, and don't worry about the oven or anything. The food is just being kept warm right now." Then she left, smiling at Clary on her way out.

The Institute was very quiet when there was nobody else in it. Every once in a while Clary would hear the house settling, but she kept reminding herself it was fine. Growing more and more worried as she sat alone at the wooden table in the kitchen by herself; she decided to go back to her room. At least there she could keep her mind off of things by drawing. They'll be back soon she kept telling herself, even though she was as anxious as she has ever been. As she was a couple feet to her bedroom, she noticed something through the open door. Her sketchbook wasn't on the bed anymore where she left it last.

Clary could hear her heart start to grow louder in her chest. She told herself to stop worrying and to go look for her sketchbook. What else was she going to do? She couldn't just run away; she had nowhere to go. She tiptoed into her room slowly, the wood beneath her creaking with every step she took. Once she entered her room, she crouched down to look under her bed. Nothing was under the bed but a lot of dust and some clothes. If Jace ever saw this he would want to clean it immediately she thought to herself. Still under the bed, she felt the breeze coming through her open window – did she open her window? Her heart starting pounding again and her whole body froze when she heard a male voice come from behind her.

"Looking for something sweetheart?" he asked in a sickly tone. She stayed where she was; afraid to stand up and see the person just behind her. "You know are very talented," he continued, "but it would be nice if you were to draw less pictures of angel boy."

Very slowly Clary began to stand up. As she turned around she saw slicked, white hair and pitch black eyes, staring intensely at her; it was like looking into a black hole. In his rough hands was her sketchbook, which was flipped open to the picture of Jace she had been working on only an hour ago. She looked at the picture wishing that he could just magically pop out of the page to come and save her, but she knew that would never happen. She hoped that she didn't look as terrified as she felt in that moment.

"I missed you Clarissa, my darling sister." He said with an evil smirk plastered onto his face.

She looked back up hesitantly into his black, lifeless eyes. Looked up at the one person she never wanted to see again.

Her brother.

Sebastian.


	2. Cracked Concrete

**Chapter 2 – Cracked Concrete**

**_AN: Hey so I decided to keep going with this story after all of the positive feedback I received. I really enjoyed the positive comments, and even the criticism, which helps me quite a bit! Anyways, on to the next chapter! _****_J_******

**_Disclaimer: These amazing characters belong to the talented Cassandra Clare; I just fool around with them. _**

**JPOV**

"I told you that there was nothing to worry about, Alec," Jace said, hitting his arm against Alec's, while they walked through the Institute doors. "I had that situation totally under control."

"Yeah, sure looked like it," Alec scoffed. "That's why there is a never-ending river of blood flowing down your leg, right?" Jace peered down at his leg and then made a dismissive gesture with his hand, while rolling his eyes.

"Could you two please stop acting like you're five years old?" Isabelle said, giving them a death glare. She looked away from them, while Alec kneeled down to draw an iratze on Jace's leg, and up towards the ceiling of the room. She inhaled deeply and then sharply turned on her heel towards the two boys, who were now standing and staring at her. "Do you smell that?" she said, grinning. Jace and Alec both looked confused for a second and then huge smiles were plastered on to their faces.

"Maryse cooked dinner for us," Jace said, smiling and raising his eyebrow, while looking at Alec. They both stared at each other for a couple more seconds before Jace raced to the elevator; Alec following close behind. When the elevator doors opened Jace and Alec both stepped in, eager to eat. Isabelle was walking close behind, shaking her head, while her high heel boots made clicking sounds on the concrete floors. "What?" Jace asked.

"You two are ridiculous," she replied, chuckling lightly. The rest of the elevator ride was filled with silence, except for Jace who was lightly tapping his fingers against the elevator wall. The doors opened up slowly before they made their way to the kitchen.

Jace walked in first, expecting to see Clary, but to his surprise she wasn't there. Jace was brushing his hand through his hair when Alec and Isabelle walked through the doors of the kitchen. They both made their way to the stove to see what Maryse had made them, while Jace just stood where he was looking around. "What's wrong?" Isabelle asked him, standing up from the stove slowly.

"I'm just surprised Clary isn't down here already," Jace replied, furrowing his eyebrows, which caused a crease in his forehead. "I mean, if we could smell this," he said, gesturing to the oven "from the first floor, surely she would be able to smell it from her room."

"Maybe she fell asleep while she was drawing?" Isabelle asked, while Alec was grabbing plates from the cupboard.

Alec turned around with the plates in his hands and nodded his head. "She has been pretty tired lately ever since… you know," he said, casting his eyes down at the floor.

"You're right," Jace said while he rubbed his forehead. "I'm just going to go grab her and see if she wants dinner." Alec and Isabelle both nodded their heads and returned to grabbing their dinner.

Jace walked down the long hallways of the Institute, while his pianist hands ran along the wallpapered walls. He could faintly hear Alec and Isabelle talking in the distance, but they were too far away now to hear anything that they were saying. Jace knew that he shouldn't be, but he was worried about Clary. She hadn't been sleeping as well as she used to, but every time he would say something to her about it, she would just say that she's fine. Jace knew that she was tough, but he also knew that this whole Sebastian situation was taking its toll on her.

He continued to make his way quickly down the hall when he finally reached Clary's door. "Clary?" Jace said, knocking on the wooden door, which created an echo down the hall. "Are you in there?"

Silence filled the air.

Jace's heart began to speed up a bit, but he told himself to calm down as he opened the door. The door creaked opened slowly, which showed Jace the empty room in front of him. His golden eyes darted around the room for any sign of Clary, but she was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence that she had even been in there were her sketchpad and a slip of paper, which lay on the wooden floors. He picked up the sketchpad and paper off the floor; his hands were shaking. Artwork filled the sketchbook that he knew was owned to Clary, but there was something different about each piece that he looked at. In every picture of himself, he noticed that the eyes were crossed out with pencil, as if somebody were making tally marks on a scoreboard. He gently set the book down on the bed and opened the folded slip of paper.

Jace's heart stopped when he read the note. There was no name, but he would recognize that handwriting anywhere after reading it just a couple weeks ago.

**I'm here and I have her. Better hurry. **

** -S **

Jace flew from the room, gripping the slip of paper roughly. He ran down the Institute hallways and towards the kitchen where he talked to his siblings only moments ago. He sprinted into the kitchen to see Isabelle and Alec staring at him like he had grown two heads. His face was a bit flushed and he was opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, trying to form words. "What's wrong?" Isabelle asked with a worried expression written across her face. She placed her fork down and stood up to talk to Jace.

Jace grabbed his head roughly in between his hands, causing his hands to turn a bit red. A million thoughts were running through his head and he just could not think any more. Alec touched Jace's shoulder lightly to get his attention. "Jace?" Jace slowed his breathing down and then looked at his Parabatai straight in the eyes.

"Clary's gone," he replied. Alec and Isabelle's worried expressions turned into expressions of shock in an instant. Isabelle's mouth began to open, as if she were about to ask him what happened, but Jace just handed her the note Sebastian left and kept his eyes glued to the floor. Once she read the note she folded it back up with her long, manicured fingers and handed the note silently to Alec. She didn't say anything to Jace, which was a first. However, after a couple seconds Jace suddenly felt strong arms wrap around his body. He looked up to see Isabelle embracing him with a hug. Her eyes were tightly shut, and Jace knew that she was trying not to cry for his sake. He hugged her back tightly, looking behind her to see Alec still holding the note in his hands.

"We'll find her," Alec said, looking up at Jace, who was still in Isabelle's arms. "I promise." Jace then put his face into Isabelle's shoulder and shut his eyes tightly, trying to hold the tears back.

**CPOV **

Clary opened her eyes slowly when she heard voices outside of her head. She blinked a couple times to try and regain focus, but the room was totally black. The only light that filled the room came from a little window, which was placed on the wall beside her. She could make out a couple features in the room because of the window, but her eyes were still a bit hazy. She noticed that the cracked walls and floor were made completely out of concrete and that there was one steel door on the wall opposite to where she was currently sitting.

Why was she here? The last thing she remembered was sitting in her bedroom at the institute drawing and – all of the memories instantly rushed back into her mind at that moment. She placed her head against the cold wall behind her and sighed, while shutting her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. Wincing, she felt a sharp pain on the side of her head. She cursed under her breath, knowing that Sebastian obviously knocked her unconscious. That jerk, Clary thought, reaching her arm up to feel the pain on her head. She lifted her arms up and heard a rattling sound below her. Looking down, she saw that her hands were locked in chains attached to the floor. She grunted in frustration as a ray of light shone on her face.

She squinted and leaned away from the light, while her knotted, red hair brushed in front of her face. The door shut loudly and she opened her bright green eyes slowly to look into his dark ones. All of the hatred she felt towards him blew up inside her as she began to struggle against the chains. "Now now, that won't help you Clarissa," Sebastian said, stepping closer to her and kneeling down. He was now so close that she could feel the warmth from his body. "Trust me, those chains will not budge." Her hands curled into fists, while she glared at him.

"What do you _want_, Sebastian?" She asked.

He chuckled lightly under his breath and then replied. "Well, that's quite simple actually, I just want you." He moved his hand up to touch her chin, but she flinched away, abruptly. His eyes flashed with a sudden anger, and he backhanded her across the face, leaving a red mark on her very pale skin. Clary looked back up through half closed eyelids to see Sebastian walking back towards the door.

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked, confused. "Are you just going to keep me locked down here like some caged animal?" He turned around slowly to face her again and laughed under his breath quietly.

"I just need to get one more thing, sister dear," he said, while a small smile suddenly grew across his face. "My brother." Clary's face fell instantly and she felt shivers run up and down her body. She knew what that meant. Jace was coming. She made another moan of frustration and placed her head in between her hands; she then let the darkness take her away.

**_Hope you enjoyed chapter two! I would really love some input for what should happen with Jace and Clary once they are trapped with Sebastian. I have some ideas already, but I would really love some other thoughts. I'm going to try and get chapter three up as soon as possible. _**

**_Please Review! – I can guarantee that the next chapter will come faster if you review. ;) _**


	3. December Shivers

**Chapter 3 – December Shivers**

**_AN: It's been a couple days since I posted because I was away for a bit. By the way, Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I tried to make it a bit longer and I tried to include some more characters, as requested. _**

**_Disclaimer: All the characters belong to the amazingly talented Cassandra Clare; I just put them through challenging situations….opps. _**

Simon stalked up the concrete steps in the direction of the large Institute doors, his black converse making marks in the thin layer of snow that was dusting the ground. He banged loudly on the doors with his knuckles, and then returned his hand to his coat pocket. He closed his eyes and waited for the door to open, letting out a breath of air, which could be seen in the cold December air. He opened his eyes suddenly when he heard the creaking sound of the Institute doors opening. He looked up to see a black haired girl staring down at him. Isabelle always looked beautiful to Simon's eyes, but something was different this time. Her makeup was set perfectly and her clothes were all in order, but there were bags under her eyes and her normally straightened hair was pulled back into a very messy bun. He would have immediately asked if she was okay, but he was here for other reasons. "Isabelle, what is going on?" Simon asked, saying each word separately.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier, but I had to make sure Jace calmed down a bit first," she replied, rubbing her hands against her eyes. Simon simply stood there waiting for her to explain what happened while she stepped out into the cold air and closed the door behind her. "Trust me; it wasn't easy with the whole heavenly fire thing. He basically turned into a human glow stick," she attempted to laugh, but failed to actually do so. She took her gaze off the ground and looked up at Simon again. She noticed the worry in his eyes and continued to talk. "Sorry, that's not why you came here," she said, rubbing her temple.

"It's okay Iz, just tell me why you sounded so frantic on the phone," he said, placing both hands on Isabelle's shoulders.

She bit her bottom lip nervously and shut her eyes. "It's Clary, Simon," she exhaled.

Simon's eyebrows furrowed and his face turned serious automatically. "What about Clary?"

"She's gone, and we're pretty sure Sebastian took her."

"When did this happen?" Simon was nearly shouting now as he gripped Isabelle's shoulders a bit more.

She again, returned her brown eyes to his, and he noticed a glassy look in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Yesterday," she replied, her voice cracking a little. Simon looked at her for a second more before pulling her into a hug. His head rested on top of hers as he wrapped his arms tightly around her torso. She had her hands covering her eyes as she put her head into his shoulder. Sobs went through her body as Simon kept his arms around her body. After a couple minutes of holding her, he loosened his hold on her and used his arm to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, which was falling out of her bun. He searched her eyes, which were now a bit puffy and red. This did not look like his strong and confident Isabelle because all Simon could see in her eyes was guilt.

"Hey," he said, using his thumb to tilt her chin up gently, so that she was looking directly at him. "You can't blame yourself for this. It wasn't your fault."

"I told Clary that everything would be fine before Jace, Alec, and I left. I told her that _we _would be fine and that she had nothing to worry about," she replied, taking a shaky breath. "But, I didn't even _think _that she would be the one in danger. I never _think_!"

"It's okay Iz, we're going to find her. I'm sorry that I lost my temper a bit, but she's my best friend."

"I know," she sighed. "You aren't really allowed inside though, so I'll try to convince the boys to go to Takis for brainstorming."

"Sounds good," he replied, staring at her for a couple more seconds before talking again. "We haven't really been able to talk in a while," he mentioned awkwardly, not meeting her eyes.

Isabelle looked up immediately, crossing her arms across her chest while Simon removed his hands from her shoulders to scratch his forehead. "About what?" She asked.

"About us, you and me," he replied, gesturing between himself and Isabelle. "I don't know whether to act as your friend or, or something else, and I'm just really confused."

"I don't know how you expect me to respond to that," she said, while her eyes searched the ground.

Simon took one step towards her and cupped her face in his hands, which caused her eyes to leave the ground. Her mouth was slightly open, and he could see her breath in the air that looked like a little cloud floating through the wind. Simon chuckled under his breath. "I've got nothing to lose." Isabelle did not say a word as she continued to stare up at Simon. "Isabelle Sophia Lightwood, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. I love you and your brave heart and your beautiful smile and your ability to light up any room that you enter. I love your perkiness and your incredible sense of fashion and even your stupid brothers who always make fun of me," he said, rolling his eyes. "I have been told many times before that you are a heartbreaker, but that has never stopped me. And I'm not very good with words, so I'm sorry," he ended, leaning in quickly to put his lips against hers. Both of their eyes closed and he still had his hands cupped around her face. She reached her arms up to wrap around his neck, melting into the kiss. He slowly moved his hands down to her torso, and pulled her towards him slightly. After a couple more seconds, both of them moved away, breaking the kiss.

Isabelle continued to look into Simon's eyes, shaking her head back and forth slightly. "So?" Simon asked, hesitantly.

The corner of her lips quirked up into a smile and she laughed lightly. "I love you so much," she replied, finding her voice again. They kissed again, lightly. The kiss was not as intense as the first one, but it still made Isabelle's stomach fill with a thousand butterflies. She pulled away slightly and sighed, her hand was resting on the side of his face. "As much as I never want this moment to end, we need to find Clary."

"I know, that's the main priority right now," he replied.

"I'm going to go talk to the boys, and then I'll meet you at Takis," she said, backing away from Simon and towards the door. He simply nodded, and never took his eyes off her. She opened the door and began to close it, looking at Simon through the crack of the door until it finally shut with a loud bang.

She rested her head on the tall doors, closing her eyes, and sighing inwardly. A smile spread across her face as she turned around, her eyes still closed. She opened her eyes when she heard a cough come from across the room. Alec was standing in front of her only a couple feet away. He rolled his eyes as he began to walk away. Isabelle opened her mouth to talk, but Alec just held up a hand while he walked. "I don't even want to know," he said, shaking his head. Isabelle looked down at the floor, grinning, and then ran after Alec and up the stairs to deal with the main problem.

Isabelle followed Alec down the halls of the Institute towards Jace's bedroom. She was filled with an overwhelming feeling of happiness after her encounter with Simon outside of the Institute, but she knew that she had to put that aside and focus all of her energy on finding Clary before something bad happened. Alec knocked lightly on the door, and without even waiting for a response, he walked into Jace's room. Isabelle was close behind him as she prepared herself for what she may see behind the door. Isabelle was shocked to see Jace's usually spotless room, messy with random pieces of paper and wrappers scattered on the floor. His garbage bin was tipped on its side on the hardwood, there was a broken picture frame on his bedside table, and there were random burn marks on the walls and furniture. Isabelle smiled sadly at the picture in the frame of Jace, Clary, and Max only days before Max had died. She regained her focus as they both stepped further into the room to see Jace lying on the bed. His head was under a pillow and his hands were scrunched up on top of the pillow, probably trying to keep the pillow on his head.

"Jace?" Alec asked cautiously, walking slowly towards the bed. Jace made a muffled sound and pulled the pillow tighter against his head. "Jace, I know that you're upset, but we have to do something about it. You can't just lay there and mope."

Jace threw the covers off violently and threw the pillow across the room towards Isabelle, looking straight at Alec. Isabelle made a little yelp and moved quickly out of the way of the flying pillow, which landed on the ground behind her. "I am _sorry_ if my _moping _is bothering you Alec," he said through clenched teeth, still kneeling on the bed. "You out of all people should know how it feels to have your loved one taken away from you!" Alec stepped back as if Jace had slapped him in the face.

"This isn't about him; this is about Clary, Jace. Don't bring him into this," he said, pointing his finger angrily in Jace's direction.

Jace put his face into his hands and then kneeled down further into the bed. He wiped his hand over his eyes and then looked up at Alec again. Alec noticed tear stains on the edge of his eyes that he had never seen before. Alec wasn't used to seeing Jace broken, Jace was always the strong one, and he wasn't exactly sure what to do now that he wasn't the strong one. "I'm sorry Alec, I didn't mean to say that," Jace sighed, standing up from the bed.

"It's fine. I understand how hard this is, but we have to do something," Alec replied, putting his hand on Jace's shoulder. Isabelle stood in the corner of the room, unsure of what to do or say. She felt as though she were walking in on a private conversation. Jace simply nodded, while his expression turned from one of sadness and anger to one of determination.

"Okay, what's the plan?" he asked, turning around so that he was now looking at both Isabelle and Alec.

Isabelle stepped forward bit, finally deciding that she should join in on the conversation. "Well, we're going to meet Simon at Takis to figure out a plan," Isabelle said, looking between her brothers. "I told him that we would be there soon, so we better get going," she continued, while gesturing towards the door.

"Okay let's get going then," Jace said, beginning to follow Alec out the door. However, Isabelle did not move, and when Alec attempted to walk past her, she stopped him by grasping his arm in her hand. They both stopped, while Jace bumped slightly into Alec.

"What?" Alec asked, staring down at his sister with a confused expression on his face.

Isabelle sighed. "I know that you aren't going to like this, and I'm sorry, but we need extra help."

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked once again, shaking his head.

"We need to call Magnus, Alec. He's the only person who could help us in this situation."

Alec backed up and removed his arm from Isabelle's grasp. "We can do this on our own, Isabelle. Besides, I don't think he would be very willing to help, he wants nothing to do with me." Isabelle could tell that Alec was getting angry because he rarely used her full first name.

Jace placed his hand on Alec's arm and spoke softly to him. "Please, Alec, I know that this sucks, but I _need _to find Clary." Alec sighed and nodded his head, moving his gaze to Isabelle.

"Fine, but good luck trying to contact him, I've been trying for months and all I've gotten is voicemail," he said bitterly, while he walked out the door. Jace and Isabelle looked at each other for a moment more and then turned to walk out after Alec. She felt a tugging on her arm though, before she even got the chance to move her feet. She turned back towards Jace, confused.

"What?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders.

Jace walked closer to her and then chuckled to himself. "You might want to check the lipstick that is smudged on the side of you face, little sis," he said, tapping her cheek lightly and grinning. Isabelle blushed and moved her hand up to rub at her cheek. "I mean I knew that Simon was a sloppy dresser, but also a sloppy kisser? You may need to rethink this whole relationship you have going on with him," he continued, winking at Isabelle, who in return gave him a death glare. Jace then left the room to follow in the direction that Alec went.

She rolled her eyes, and grabbed her phone from her coat pocket, exiting the room shortly after Jace. She dialed and put the phone up against her hear, letting it ring a couple times. She held her breath while walking through the hallway of the Institute, praying that he would answer the phone. She exhaled deeply when the phone finally stopped ringing and there was a voice on the other end. "Look, I know that you aren't very happy with us at the moment, but Magnus we need your help. It's Clary."

After arriving at Takis and ordering their food, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Simon started brainstorming ideas for tracking down and finding Clary. Alec and Jace were sitting beside each other, while Simon and Isabelle were sitting across from them in a side booth. Simon was trying to avoid Alec's gaze, which was as piercing as a spear. Simon knew that he was just being an overprotective brother, but it was distracting him from the main purpose of being here. "Would you stop shooting holes through Simon with your eyes?" Jace asked, whacking Alec in the arm. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll sit next to Isabelle," he said, gesturing towards Isabelle.

"Really?" Isabelle asked, shaking her head.

"No, forget it; let's just get back to the matter at hand." Alec replied, when the door to the restaurant suddenly swung open, causing a jingle to go off. Jace looked to the door and put his hand up to say hello as Alec put his head down to stare at the scratched up table. Alec heard the squeaking of a chair scraping across the tiles and the sound of wood settling. He looked up to see Magnus sitting in a chair at the end of the booth.

Magnus looked at each of them one by one, his gaze held on Alec for a second longer, before he started speaking. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well," Isabelle said, smoothing her hair back which was still in a messy bun. "I think that the first thing that we should do is try a tracking spell. I don't think Sebastian is stupid enough to make it that easy for us, but it's worth a shot."

"Okay," Magnus replied, nodding his head. "I'm going to need something that she owns in order to do the spell."

"I'm sure that I can find something in her room at the Institute, if you're willing to come back to the Institute to do the spell. I think I saw her Morgenstern ring on her bedside table, which would probably work." Jace said.

"Yes, I will do the spell at the Institute, anything for Clary," Magnus replied, and then sighed heavily. "But, as you know I am no longer free to you guys, so this is going to cost a bit."

"I wonder why," Alec mumbled, looking back at the table, just loud enough for everybody to hear. The whole table went quiet, while Simon and Isabelle gave each other knowing looks. Magnus coughed and leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, while Jace sat between them.

"If you have something to say Alexander; then say it," Magnus said, staring directly at Alec.

"No, no, just don't make my friends pay the cost because you're really just mad at me" Alec replied, flinging his hands around.

"We are not having this talk here," He said to Alec, while rolling his eyes.

"Then when do you _want_ to talk Magnus?" Alec nearly yelled, sitting up in his seat a bit. "I've called you, texted you, walked to your house, and you just _keep shutting me out!_"

Jace put his hand on Alec's shoulder and forcefully shoved him back into his seat. "Not here," he told Alec quietly. Alec rolled his eyes, and then looked in the opposite direction. They were all quiet for a couple more moments, while the door opened and more customers walked in, but they all kept their eyes down, waiting for their food.

"Well, well, well, look at the dynamic five all sitting down for a nice little lunch," said a sneering voice behind Magnus. Jace turned pale and everybody at the table froze, afraid to look up at the familiar voice. Jace took a shaky breath and turned his head up to the one person who he hated most in the world. He stood up automatically, and attempted to walk closer to Sebastian, but Alec held him back.

He sat back down, while Alec whispered in his ear. "Don't be stupid."

"Where is she?" Jace breathed, not up for Sebastian's small talk.

"Aw, Jace. I was expecting more of a greeting from my favorite brother," Sebastian replied, putting his hand over his heart. He slid a chair over and sat down in between Magnus and Jace. Alec kept a hand on Jace's knee to prevent him from attacking Sebastian on the spot, while Isabelle and Simon held each other's hands underneath the table. They wanted to get at least some hint to where Clary was, and trying to kill him right away was not going to get them any answers.

"I am going to kill you, if you do not tell me where she is right now," Jace said, pronouncing each word separately. Jace's eyes looked violent as if the gold in his eyes had been replaced with the raging heavenly fire.

"I didn't come here to fight, angel boy. I came here to offer you a chance to see Clary."

"What do you want?" Simon asked tentatively.

"Well, you can see Clary, Jace," Sebastian replied, totally ignoring Simon. "You just have to stay there with me as well."

Isabelle stood straight up in the booth and shot daggers at Sebastian with her eyes. "No way in hell! There is no way that Jace would be that stupid, right Jace?" She looked at Jace expectantly, but when he didn't answer, she grew worried. "Jace?"

Looking at Sebastian, Jace replied, biting his bottom lip a little bit. "Have you hurt her?"

"Not yet," Sebastian sneered. "But that can and probably will change. It just depends on whether you're there to protect her or not."

Jace shut his eyes and looked back towards his siblings and friends. "I'm sorry, I have to do this," he whispered, while placing a strand of his hair secretly into Alec's hand, so that they could track him later. "She means everything to me, and I can't imagine passing the chance to protect her."

"Jace," Isabelle whispered, while a tear escaped her eye. "Please don't do this. I can't lose you too."

"I'll be fine," Jace assured her, reaching his hand across the table to squeeze Isabelle's. He looked back to Sebastian and nodded his head once. "Okay, I'll go with you, as long as I get to see Clary."

"Of course brother, I promise," he said without hesitation. "Let's go then. See? That wasn't so hard was it? No fighting at all." They both stood up and started to leave, while the rest of the people at the table were frozen to their seats. They all knew why he did it. They all would have done the same thing if they were in his situation, but that didn't mean that it hurt any less. Sebastian turned around again to look back at everybody in the booth before they left the restaurant. "It really was lovely to see you all again. I hope we have the chance to do this in the future, hopefully under different circumstances." Sebastian hissed, smirking. Jace turned around once more to look at Isabelle, who looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Alec. He nodded once at Alec, and Alec did the same, before Jace walked out the front door and into the fresh air.

Clary woke up to the sound of loud footsteps echoing in her ears. She blinked a couple times to regain her focus before she heard the door in front of her screech open. She sat up quickly and pressed her back into the wall behind her, trying to blend in with her surroundings. The chains on her wrists and ankles made chiming noises on the ground. The same light flashed in her eyes again as a tall, dark shadow blocked her view. The shadow stepped in and closed the door by kicking it with his foot. "Clarissa," he snickered. Clary closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her heartbeat sped up. "I brought you a little present." Clary didn't even realize that he was holding something, until she heard a loud thump on the floor and saw Sebastian drop a large figure. She slowly looked over at the muscular figure on the ground and immediately saw the striking blond hair.

"Jace," she gasped, struggling against the chains that were restricting her. She looked up at him, while rage filled her eyes. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing at all," he replied, grinning. "He came willingly, all I had to do was knock him out so then he wouldn't know where we were going. Did you not miss him?"

"Of course I missed him," she said violently. "But I would never wish for him to be in this hell-like place with _you_."

He walked over to Clary, his boots making the same echoing sounds in the room, and kneeled down so that he was at eye level with her. "I suggest that you start talking to me nicer, because your actions will have consequences," he said, not as a statement but as a threat.

Clary laughed, but no sound came out, as she leaned in closer to his face. "I am not scared of you."

"You should be," he replied, standing up and walking back towards the door. She stayed where she was and stared at Jace who was lying unconsciously on the ground. He didn't say another word to her as he slammed the door shut behind him, which sent shivers up and down Clary's spine. The truth was that Sebastian did scare her, and the only thing scarier than Sebastian was a mad Sebastian. The thought of tomorrow and what would happen terrified her, so she kept her eyes open on Jace's body, too terrified to close them.

**_So, I hope that you liked chapter 3! I tried to make this chapter longer for you guys, and I hope that I succeeded in doing so. I even gave you Sizzy and some intense Malec moments… you're welcome. _**

**_Please, please, please review! That next update will for sure come faster if you do. ;) _**


	4. Skin Stained Red

**Chapter 4 – Skin Stained Red**

**_AN: Oh my gosh HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! 2K15! YAY! I know I'm always late on these sorts of things… but at least I try. I was going to wait a bit longer to write this chapter so that I could wait for some more reviews….but I just really wanted to write the next one. I hope you guys don't mind that I don't really have a set date for updating because if I were to have a set date then I would procrastinate, never update on time, and it wouldn't be as fun to write them. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and ignore my excessive rambling! _**

**_Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns all characters and unfortunately the Herondale Boys. She is one smart person. _**

Clary wasn't quite sure whether she ever did sleep after her encounter with Sebastian the previous night. However, she did know that it was, in fact, morning because of the cold, winter sky shining through the one window in the eerie room. She looked up at the window slowly, squeezing her eyes shut due to the brightness. It was a bright contrast against the darkness of everything else within the room.

She looked back down at Jace, who was still lying unconscious on the smooth floor. A million thoughts were running through her head. What was she supposed to do? Even if she were able to escape, there is no way that she would have been able to carry Jace's lifeless body anywhere. She shut her eyes and groaned, leaning her head back against the wall, wishing that this nightmare would end. Her head snapped up when she heard a muffled voice and the sound of clothes brushing against pavement in front of her. "Jace?" Clary asked hesitantly, her voice just above a whisper.

"What…" Jace said, while his voice was still thick with sleep. He rubbed his hands roughly against his eyelids and inhaled deeply before looking up. Seeming to regain his focus and remember what was going on, his eyes widened. He scrambled over to where Clary was ungracefully; his shoes pushing against the ground, while his hands helped him move across the floor. He quickly embraced Clary in his arms, propping himself up on his knees, while Clary stayed sitting on the floor. She brought her hands up to go around his body, but it was very hard due to the restraints on her arms. Jace's head was on top of Clary's, sighing out a shaky breath before kissing her head softly and letting her go.

His hands were still on her shoulders, while he spoke, worry lacing his voice. "Are you okay?" Clary just nodded in response, unable to trust her voice quite yet. "Did he hurt you?"

"I-I'm fine, Jace,"she responded, shaking her head slightly. "Why are you here? What happened?"

"Sebastian found us at Taki's, and he gave me the option to come and see you," he said, cupping her face in his hand.

Clary blinked a couple times before responding, looking at him in disbelief. "I know that," she said, placing her hand over top of his. "I just don't understand why. Why would you put yourself into a dangerous situation, Jace?"

"Clary, I couldn't just pass up the opportunity to see you, t-to protect you," he replied, blinking rapidly a couple times and furrowing his eyebrows. He removed his hand from her face and placed it on her knee, while Clary put her face down in her hands and groaned in frustration.

"This isn't protecting me, Jace," she exclaimed, removing her hands from her face to look at Jace.

"What do you mean, Clary? I'm here to make sure that Sebastian doesn't lay a finger on you. So, that Sebastian can't hurt you."

"This is the _best_ way that he can hurt me, Jace," she said, bringing her knees into her chest.

"I don't understand…" Jace replied, laughing un-humorously.

"Because he has _you_," Clary responded, her voice cracking. She put her head into her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs tightly. She bit her lip, trying to prevent the tears from coming. Jace didn't respond. He just looked at Clary, sorrow written across his face, while his mouth hung open slightly. After a couple seconds, she lifted her head up slowly and looked into his eyes. Her green eyes were staring straight into his gold ones. "I can't stand the thought of him being able to hurt you, and I couldn't even close my eyes last night b-because…" she ended, looking down at the floor.

Jace tipped her chin up with his hand softly, forcing her to take her gaze off the floor. He noticed tears brimming at the edges of her eyes, but decided not to mention it. "Because what?"

"Because, I hate to admit, but I'm just so _terrified_, Jace," she breathed. She shut her eyes once again, while a tear escaped out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey," Jace said, removing his hand from her chin to wipe the tear away. "You don't have to worry about me, alright? I'm going to be just fine, and I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to get _us _out of here."

Clary nodded her head and wiped all the stray tears away from her face. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," he whispered, taking her face in both of his hands and resting his forehead on top of hers. "Never leave me, ever, again." She chuckled under her breath lightly, while Jace leaned closer to her; their lips almost touching. Clary could feel his breath against her lips, and it sent butterflies to her stomach. "I love you," Jace whispered, right before he finally connected his lips to hers. Clary's arms grabbed on to Jace's biceps, unable to wrap them around his neck, while she melted into the kiss. This kiss wasn't as soft as the other kisses they shared in the past; this kiss meant something more. After a couple more seconds, they both separated, needing air. Their foreheads were pressed up against each other, and their hands still remained where they were. Their heavy breathing filled the room as they stared into each other's eyes. Jace opened his mouth, looking as if he were about to say something, but another voice filled the silence instead. It was the same voice that made Clary's blood run cold and caused goose bumps to appear on her skin.

"Well, what do we have here?" Sebastian snickered, clapping his hands together just under his chin. "The two love birds finally having their happy reunion."

Jace stood up abruptly, attempting to hide Clary behind his legs, while he narrowed his eyes at Sebastian. "What do you want?" Jace remarked, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. "You have both Clary and I now. Stop making small talk, and get to the point of why you wanted us here in the first place," he ended through clenched teeth.

Sebastian chuckled lightly to himself as he walked closer to Clary and Jace. "Can I not just want the simple pleasure of having both of my siblings together with me? Is that too much to ask?" He replied, mocking fake hurt.

"When it's you, yes," Jace said, refusing to move even though Sebastian was getting closer and closer.

Sebastian stopped walking when he was about an arm's length away from Jace, putting his hands up in the air in surrender. "Fine, fine. However, as you both know, my goal has always remained the same. I want both of you to help me eliminate the existence of Shadowhunters, so that I can create my new army of… _improved _Shadowhunters."

"You must have a brain in that fat head of yours, right?" Jace smirked. "There is no way Clary or I would ever help you do that."

"I cannot force you to be on my side during this war, but there are ways that I can persuade you to help me through it." Jace did not respond. He simply glared at him and crossed his arms over his chest, using his actions instead of his words in defiance. "Now, I would really appreciate it, if you," Sebastian said, pushing his index finger into Jace's chest. "Would be so kind, as to let me lock you up because I cannot just let you roam freely down here."

"Wow, there really is no brain in there. What makes you think that I would be _so _stupid that I would lock _myself _up?" Jace said, unmoving.

"_I do not care_, brother, if we do this the easy way or the hard way. You either let me lock you up in those chains over there," he said in a high whisper, pointing over to the chains on the wall beside the wall where Clary is placed. "Or, I can just knock you unconscious. Either works for me," he ended, smiling. Jace kept his gaze on Sebastians, and still refused to move. Sebastian narrowed his eyes before he began talking again. He took one step closer to Jace, whispering. "I mean, who knows what I could do to _Clary_ while you're unconscious. Laying only a couple feet away."

Jace made a small wince and slowly lowered his crossed arms back to his sides. He started to walk over to the wall where the chains were placed when he felt a tugging at his leg. He turned his head around to look down at Clary, who was furrowing her eyebrows. "Jace," Clary warned, her voice coming out in a whisper. Jace only shook his head once, telling her that it was fine, and continued his way to the wall. He sat down on the hard floor and waited, refusing to _really_ lock himself up. Sebastian sighed and walked over to Jace, kneeling down on one knee.

"You should have listened to dad more," he laughed, starting to lock his arms within the cold metal. "'To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed', right? But look at you now, you are letting your love for Clary make all of your decisions for you," he finished, standing up and walking back into the middle of the room, so that he could see both Clary and Jace. "You would never admit, Jace, but Clary is your real weakness, and you know that," he said, pointing to Clary.

"That's not true," he replied, looking down at the floor.

"Isn't it, though?" Sebastian chuckled, beginning to walk over to where Clary was sitting. "I bet even Clarissa agrees with me. Don't you?"

Clary looked up from the ground for the first time during the conversation, and looked into his cold eyes. Jace was focusing all of his attention on Clary, who, he noticed, held both anger and sadness within her eyes. When Sebastian realized that she was not going to answer, he decided to kneel down so that he was face to face with her. "Hm? I expect an answer, Clarissa," he said, putting his hand up to hold her chin gently.

"Stop calling me that," Clary seethed, flinching away from Sebastian's touch. Anger flashed through his eyes at the sudden rejection as he took a hold of Clary's chin harshly, forcing her to look up.

"I thought that I told you that you better watch your mouth when you are talking to me." Jace was fighting against the chains in the background, causing them to rattle loudly against the cement. Before Clary could even have the chance to reply, Jace did for her.

"Don't touch her," Jace nearly shouted across the room. "Don't you dare touch her you evil bastard," he repeated. Sebastian used only his eyes to look up at the ceiling before returning them to Clary's angry face. He leaned closer to her with his hand still tightly around her chin.

"You may want to pray to the Angel for him, _Clarissa_," he whispered, using her full name on purpose. "Because predicting the way that he's going to act, he's going to need it."

He pushed Clary's head back a bit, letting go of her chin, before walking back into the middle of the room. For a moment both Clary and Jace thought that he was just going to let them be. However, they weren't in a dream. "I guess," he said, rubbing his hands together in front of his chest. "That I am going to have to teach you your place here, angel boy." He laughed lightly to himself, while Jace still held his glare. "And it won't be fun." Clary gulped, looking between Sebastian and Jace in panic, realizing that her nightmare has only just begun.

Magnus, Isabelle, Alec, and Simon all raced to Magnus' apartment after their encounter with Sebastian. They needed to track Jace as fast as possible before he became untraceable, like Clary, who most likely was. They all sat around on couches, waiting for Magnus to finish the spell, blue sparks flying from his hands. Everybody else in the room was tense, while they watched Magnus work. Isabelle held her head in her hands, while her elbows were placed on her knees. Simon kept peering over at her out of the corner of his eye worriedly. Alec simply bumped his knee up and down, and looked up at the ceiling with his eyes closed. Simon knew what they were doing because it was the same thing that he was doing. They were all praying that everything would be okay. He couldn't imagine his life without Clary in it; the thought brought tears to his eyes, but he refused to let them shed. He even missed and prayed for Jace because he knew how important he was to everybody. Isabelle suddenly put her heads in her hands, gripping her head roughly. Simon put his hand on her back, trying to sooth her as she looked up. "Everything's going to be okay," he said softly to her. Isabelle only nodded her head. She was trying to be strong, Simon knew, but her eyes once again held a glassy look in them.

They all looked up, even Alec who still had his head turned towards the ceiling, to look at Magnus. The sparks coming out of his hands ceased as he set down Jace's strand of hair on the coffee table in front of all of them. "Well?" Alec asked, impatiently. Simon thought that he heard annoyance in his voice, but he decided not to bring it up.

Magnus inhaled deeply before responding. "They are definitely on their way to Idris," he replied, looking at each person individually, his cat eyes glowing. "I tracked them for as long as I could before I lost the connection, and they were clearly in Idris. I'm guessing that Sebastian has them under some sort of protection spell because I would have been able to see more specifically where they were, but it's better than nothing."

"Okay," Isabelle said, jumping off of the couch. "Then we need to get to Idris right away." She started walking out of the room, when Alec grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to the Institute to pack a bag, you should too," she replied, looking over her shoulder back at Magnus. "Can you have a portal ready in an hour?"

Magnus nodded once and then Isabelle pushed past Alec to walk out the front door. "Can you go with her?" Alec asked Simon, gesturing his head in the way that Isabelle just went. Simon nodded shyly and then followed Isabelle out of the apartment, leaving Magnus and Alec by themselves. Alec looked down at the floor once before looking back at Magnus, who was looking straight at him. He walked across the room, so that he was sitting on the couch beside Magnus. An awkward silence filled the room, which was only filled with their light breathing. "Magnus," Alec started, but Magnus cut him off by holding his hand up.

"You don't need to say anything Alec," he sighed. "I'm sorry for not responding to any of your messages, but I was going through a rough time."

Alec's face changed from one filled with anxiety to one filled with rage in a second. "_You_ were going through a rough time?" Alec nearly shouted, leaning closer to Magnus. "I seem to recall that _you_ were the one who broke up with _me." _

Magnus didn't respond he just kept his gaze steady on Alec. "Do you know how painful it was for me when you just shut me out? I don't get a phone call, a text message, _nothing, _Magnus. Nothing!" Alec continued, throwing his hands around wildly in the air.

Magnus stood up abruptly, staring down into Alec's blue eyes. "Do you think that I wanted to break up with you? That I wanted to shut you out?"

Alec stood up too, tired of being talked down to. He crossed his hands over his chest and raised his eyebrow. They were now standing a foot away from each other, so close that Alec could just reach out his arm to touch him. "Well, obviously you wanted to. You never do anything that you don't want to do."

Magnus screamed quietly in frustration, gripping his hair in between his fingers. "_I would never want to lose you Alec! I still don't!" _Alec didn't say anything, while his mouth hung open a bit. He felt as though Magnus had just poured ice water over his head with those words. "I never wanted to let you go," Magnus whispered, stepping that one foot closer to Alec. They were so close now that Alec could feel his body heat against his own, and before he knew it Magnus was leaning closer to him, grabbing his head gently with his hands. He felt pressure on his lips as it took him a couple seconds to realize that Magnus was kissing him. After all these weeks of being shut out he could not believe that this was happening, but he went along with it and melted into the kiss.

Then, after a couple more seconds, the pressure was gone. Magnus stepped away, looking flushed and confused. He looked around the room spontaneously before finally resting his eyes back on Alec. He took a shaky breath and then spoke again in a whisper, almost sounding pained. "But that doesn't change a thing."

Alec stood there stunned. What had just happened? One moment they were kissing and the next moment he was right back where he originally started, letting Magnus slip through his fingertips. "You better go get packed," Magnus whispered again, forcing his head down and walking out of the room, leaving Alec behind frozen to his spot.

Clary's breathing had gotten rougher and rougher as the minutes passed on, watching Sebastian hit Jace repeatedly with his fists and feet. She had been screaming his name again and again until Clary was sure that she had lost her voice. However, Jace never yelled out or showed any pain. She looked over at Jace's bruised body once more as her eyes widened. His beautiful, angelic face was scratched and bruised from the continuous beatings. "Have you learned yet, Jace?" Sebastian asked yet again in a sickly tone after kicking Jace in the stomach. Jace lifted his head up slowly to look at Sebastian and laughed. _God dammit, Jace. Don't be a smart ass. _Clary thought to herself watching their conversation. Jace mumbled to himself so low that nobody could hear him. Sebastian kneeled down and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Hm? What was that?"

"You are still a demonic _bastard," _Jace said again, pronouncing each word clearly. Sebastian narrowed his eyes and stood up violently to kick Jace once again in the stomach. The impact making Clary wince as she yelled for him to stop, but nobody seemed to be listening to her. Jace's head fell forward, while his hands gripped his restraints. Sebastian stepped back slowly into the middle of the room. _Thank god, _Clary thought again, thinking that this torture was finally over. There were a couple angry tears streaming down her face, but she refused to give Sebastian the satisfaction of seeing her sob. Instead she tried to shoot daggers through him with her eyes. Her wrists were a bit red from fighting against the chains, but she ignored the pain, focusing all her attention on Jace.

"Well, it looks as though you are going to still need to learn your place here, Jace," he sighed, causing Jace to look up at him.

"You can hit me a billion times. Trust me, I won't give up so easily," Jace replied, shaking his head in disgust.

Sebastian laughed to himself, which made the hair on Clary's skin stand. "No, I think that you need more _persuasion _to learn. Motivation, perhaps," he grinned from ear to ear, looking over to Clary. He began to walk over to Clary very slowly as Clary pushed her hands into the ground, trying to get away, but the wall behind her prevented her from doing so. "Because as we discussed before," he continued, kneeling down in front of Clary now. "Clary _is _your weakness."

Realization set in for Jace as he looked at Clary, whose head was turned to the side away from Sebastian. "Clary!" Jace yelled, pulling against his restraints. "Sebastian you cannot hurt her because of me!"

He looked over his shoulder at Jace in annoyance. "Of course I can. Just remember that you brought this one on yourself," he said before gripping Clary's chin in his hand again for the second time that day, forcing her to look at him. "I'm sorry, sister, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice," he said, reaching behind him to grab something from his pocket. Jace watched as he drew a small knife from his pocket, and seeing this he struggled further against the chains. He dangled the knife in front of her face, while Clary struggled more in his grip. Her eyes were shut tightly in frustration and when she opened them, she saw that the knife was now placed lightly on her forearm.

She looked down with only her eyes because her chin was still being gripped tightly as Sebastian dragged the knife slowly across her skin; blood staining her pale white skin. She bit her lip roughly, trying not to scream as she shut her eyes again securely. She didn't want to scream in fear that she would make Jace feel even more guilt and because she didn't want to give Sebastian any further satisfaction. He stopped when there was a line of blood all the way across her forearm. He set her arm down lightly on the floor, which was trembling. She blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears in her eyes as she saw Sebastian grab her other arm. "I hate seeing you like this," he said softly. "But I have to teach Jace what belongs to me."

Clary was about to make a retort back that she was most definitely _not _his, but before she could she felt the cool sting of the blade against her skin again. She groaned in frustration, but she soon realized that he was no longer drawing a straight line on her arm. She looked down, while still biting her lip, and saw that he was drawing the letter "S". She winced in pain and disgust as he finished. He wiped the knife against his jacket before he placed it back in his jean pocket. Clary was breathing heavily, showing her teeth in anger. "I'm not a piece of furniture," she seethed. "You don't have any sort of possession over me." She could hear Jace rattling the chains behind her, but she tried not to think too much about it. He chuckled again to himself, while he grabbed out his stele and placed it on her arm.

"Oh, but of course I do," he sneered, drawing an _iratze _on her arm. She felt the familiar sting of the stele, but it was nothing compared to the sting of the metal dragging against her skin. He tucked the stele back into his jacket pocket as he leaned closer to her. His breath was right against her ear, whispering. "Don't you remember what I told you?" He paused, while she trembled slightly underneath him. "You belong to me, Clary," he finished, hissing.

"You wish," she spat as he leaned away from her. He quickly slapped her across the face, leaving a red print, snapping her head to the side. Red hair covered her face and when she looked back Sebastian was already at the door, closing it shut. She didn't let a sob escape until the door was officially locked. She bent her head down and tried to think of anything else, but horrible images kept flashing through her mind. Her back was silently moving up and down as Jace watched her from a distance, wishing that he could go over there and hold her. However, there was nothing that he could do. He blinked unshed tears out of his eyes that were meant for Clary. He inhaled deeply, looking at the love of his life and feeling so helpless.

**I hope you guys liked Chapter 4! I know, I know, you all probably will hate me for the whole Malec incident, but don't worry it will all work out in the end. I would love some input and reviews for how you would like the next chapters to go! I will probably write the next chapter soon, but I won't post it until after some more reviews come in ;) I know. I'm horrible. **

**How do you think that Clary and Jace should be saved?**

**See that little review button? You should click it and leave me a review because it would make my day. :)**


	5. Roughly Edged Paper

**Chapter 5 – Roughly Edged Paper**

**_AN: Hey, so I know that I said that I would have the next chapter up soon, but then school started. I just wanted to say how sorry I am that I didn't update sooner because I hate when authors promise something that doesn't happen. Anyways, so sorry and I hope you enjoy the chapter! _**

**_Warning: I know that this is probably long overdue, but mention of character death. (Although, if you can read this far into the fanfiction and not be totally confused, then I think you were already aware about the character death). I thought I would warn you anyways though._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mortal Instruments series. Cassandra Clare does. _**

He didn't know how much time had passed when he finally saw Clary's eyes again. She placed her head back so that it was leaning on the wall. She inhaled deeply before resting her eyes on Jace across the room. He hadn't removed his eyes from her since Sebastian closed the door, and he was relieved to see her face again. He started to move forward as if he were about to walk over to where she was sitting, but then he heard that familiar unsettling sound of the chains and stopped. He moved his body away from the wall as far as his restraints would let him and placed both of his hands on his crossed legs. He tilted his head to the side a bit before speaking. "Clary?" he asked hesitantly.

Clary blinked a couple times, but she didn't reply. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked down at the floor, unable to look at his pitiful gaze. She began playing with her nails, while he continued to speak. "Clary, are you okay?" Clary wiped her hands over her eyes before snapping her head up towards Jace.

"I don't know, Jace," she said sharply, her hair sticking out in random places. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, I-I just don't know what to do."

"We're going to get of here, don't worry," he replied, shaking his head slightly.

"How?" she asked, while the edges of her eyes crinkled a little. "How? Because I don't know if I could do this for too long. I mean, I'm fine with him doing whatever he wants to me, but I can't keep seeing you get hurt; it's killing me," she pleaded.

Jace shut his eyes for a second as he tilted his head towards the floor. He looked back up to continue speaking, but stopped when he saw Clary's usually vibrant eyes, sad and dull. He wasn't used to seeing his strong and beautiful Clary so sad. He held his tongue between his teeth and then removed it to start talking again. "You don't need to worry about me, okay? I'm going to be just fine. I'm more worried about you."

"Why?" she asked confused. "I'm not scared of that monster," she replied, pointing towards the door. "I'm just scared of how far he would go to hurt us. Both of us."

Jace wiped his hand along the side of his face. "I just feel so helpless," he said, sighing. "What happened, however long ago, was totally my fault. And I'm so sorry, Clary,"

Clary turned her head away from him before saying anything. "You can't protect me from everything, Jace," she continued, moving her head to look down at the floor. "I can protect myself."

"I know, that's not what I meant," he said in a rush, shaking his head and shutting his eyes. "I-I just don't know how to help you, how, how to do make the right choices for you and I…" He stopped.

"You what?" she whispered, moving her head to look at Jace again.

He opened his eyes too, so that they were both looking at each other now. Jace was once again startled at how glassy her eyes looked from where he was sitting. They were breath-taking as always, sparkling green eyes with hints of gold, but they looked much sadder now. He didn't exactly know how to respond, which was a first, but he took a deep breath and continued. "I'm just so scared of losing you."

"You're not going to lose me," she said quietly, shaking her head slightly. "You can't get rid of me that easily," she ended, while the corner of her mouth quirked up in a grin. Jace chuckled under his breath and looked up at her with his amazing smile. He didn't say anything; he just kept his focus on her face, while his smile grew wider and wider as the seconds went on. "What?" Clary asked, smiling back at him.

He looked down at the floor and then back up at her again. "I know this may be hard to believe, but I find myself falling in love with you more and more every day."

Clary blushed. "Jace," she said breathlessly, tugging at the ends of her dirty, red hair.

"It's true. You're so brave, and kind and you have made me a better person since the day that I met you in Pandemonium. I know that you don't see yourself the way that I do, and sometimes I don't even understand why you don't see how beautiful you truly are, but that's okay, because I will keep telling you every single day that I have you standing next to me." Clary shook her head back and forth slightly and looked away from Jace as she drew her knees into her chest. "Clary," he said again softly, grabbing her attention. She looked up slowly. "To _me, _you're perfect."

A single tear traced itself slowly down her cheek as she stayed completely still. A startled look flashed in Jace's eyes when he saw that she was crying. "What's wrong?" he asked anxiously, trying to move a little closer to her.

She let out a small laugh before replying. "I just love you so much," she said, wiping stray tears off of her cheeks as her smile grew bigger. "And I'm so lucky to have you in my life because I do not deserve someone like you."

Jace shook his head to get strands of stray blond hair out of his face. He laughed lightly. "I'll love you until I die, and even after that remember?"

She nodded her head and for a couple minutes they sat there. Looking at each other; not wanting the silent moment to end. It was as if time didn't matter anymore, as if they were in their own little infinite world.

Clary's head snapped towards the door when she heard loud footsteps coming closer and closer towards the room. They sounded like loud claps of thunder in her ears. She bit her lip consciously and looked over at Jace, whose smile had also disappeared from his face. Clary's whole body felt cold with anticipation. They both kept their eyes on each other as Jace mouthed words to her: 'I love you.' Clary nodded her head as they heard the sickening sounds of the door squeaking open.

**000000**

Isabelle scurried around her room at a frantic pace, trying to get everything to fit into her bag. She had no idea how long she would be gone for, so she didn't know how much to pack. She hoped that it wasn't long. She looked back towards her bed and the clothes that were scattered on top of her bag, and then gripped her leather bag with both hands tightly. She took a deep breath in and released one hand to place it on her forehead. Isabelle then began to fold her clothes, until she heard a light rapping at the door. She didn't turn around because she knew that it could only be one person. After a couple seconds, she felt a small, strong hand rubbing up and down her back. She shut her eyes tightly.

"Isabelle," Maryse said, while her hand stopped moving. "What are you doing?" There was gentleness to her voice that Isabelle hardly heard her mother use if she were with anyone else other than Alec or herself.

She shook her head slightly, still staring down at her unpacked bag. "We have to go, Mom," she said, starting to just stuff clothes into her bag. "We have to save Clary," she hesitated. "And Jace."

Isabelle felt the pressure on her back release instantly. She winced to herself. "What did you just say?"

"We didn't tell you because we didn't want to worry you," she replied, gesturing with clothes in her hands.

Maryse turned Isabelle around by grabbing both of her shoulders. She was now looking straight into Maryse's narrowed eyes. "Isabelle, what happened?" Her voice was shaking slightly.

Isabelle sighed and looked down at the hardwood floor. "Jace left with Sebastian," she replied. "He had to go to Clary, you know how he is," she ended, laughing lightly, but there was no humor in her laugh.

Maryse let go of Isabelle's shoulders and turned, so that her back was now facing Isabelle. She brought both hands up to cover her eyes. Isabelle walked gently over to her mother and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Mom? Are you okay?" Maryse nodded her head a couple times, but didn't continue speaking. "Mom?" Isabelle asked again, turning her mother around. What she saw surprised her. Her whole life she has always seen her mother as the strong, independent figure, but now she saw glassy look to her brown eyes that had never been there before. Her mother was finally unraveling. "What's wrong?"

"I can't-," she broke off, her voice cracking. She bit her lip. "I've never thought of Jace any differently than I've thought of you and Alec. H-he's my son, and I cannot lose another one of my children." There was a pain in Isabelle's chest from the mention of her younger brother.

Isabelle looked at her mother with confidence. "Mom, we're going to get him back. I promise." She turned around again back towards her bag on the bed and stuffed the rest of her clothes in her bag, before turning to face her mom again. "We're all going to Idris, and we're going to bring both of them back."

She was afraid that her mother would argue, but she didn't. Maryse simply nodded her head and settled her hand on Isabelle's cheek. "Be careful, okay?"

Isabelle put her hand on top of her mother's and nodded as she turned towards the door, leaving her mom behind. She gripped the door frame, while she twisted around to look at Maryse one last time. "I promise, Mom. I would never leave my brother behind."

**00000 **

She left the Institute in a hurry to get back to Magnus' apartment after her encounter with her mother. Her head was fixed on the snowy ground to avoid the snowflakes from entering her eyes. There were a thousand thoughts running through her head that she couldn't comprehend. Suddenly, she bumped into a hard figure. She looked up, about to apologize, but noticed automatically that it was Simon. "I thought you were at Magnus'?" she asked confused. They were about a block away from Magnus' apartment now; she realized that he was also holding a bag in his hand.

"I was," he confirmed. "But Alec told me to go with you." She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, her bag swinging slightly on her forearm. "Also," he whispered, leaning closer to her. "There was a lot of tension in the room when I left. _A lot, _if you know what I mean." He scrunched his face up, jokingly.

She playfully punched his arm and smiled up at him. "It's not funny, I'm worried about them."

"So am I. I mean can they not realize that they _obviously _still love each other?" Isabelle laughed. "What?" He asked, confused.

"No, it's just funny that you would say that," she replied, a smirk still present on her face.

"Why?"

"I mean how long have we been doing the exact same thing?" she said shyly, removing her eyes from his. She uncrossed her arms and began picking at her nail polish. She heard Simon exhale slowly as he touched her cheek; exactly where her mother recently touched her.

"Hey, that doesn't matter now," he said quietly so that just she could hear him, rubbing his thumb up and down along her cheekbone. "What matters now is that we're together, right?"

"Right," she confirmed, nodding. He leaned in closer to her face, keeping his hand where it was, and pecked her lips. It wasn't a long dramatic kiss like the last one they shared but rather a slow, gentle, and little one. It was over almost as soon as it had started. Isabelle opened her eyes slowly, trying to make the moment last longer.

"We should probably get going," he said softly, his face still near hers.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's getting a bit cold." They continued walking towards the apartment hand in hand when Simon nudged her shoulder lightly.

"It's not that cold," he whispered, sarcastically, a playful grin growing on his face.

"Yeah, well, not all of us have a special Vampire immunity to the cold," she hissed back. He laughed, which made Isabelle's heart melt. They walked through the snow. She no longer felt cold.

**00000 **

Maryse didn't know what to do with herself. The Institute felt so much bigger and lonelier with nobody else occupied within it. With Robert staying in Idris currently and her children out on a rescue mission she felt completely alone. She noticed that she was currently gripping her desk chair solidly; her knuckles were turning white. She flexed her hand to let go of the chair and positioned her head down on the desk over her arms. She could feel the rough, edged paper under her fingers. Her head snapped up swiftly when she heard unknown footsteps making its way closer towards her. She sat up straight when she saw Jocelyn storming towards her, a look of pure rage and sadness plastered on to her face. Maryse winced. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"Where is my daughter?" she almost shouted, holding her cell phone in the air. "I have called her repeatedly for three days and she hasn't answered." Three days? Had it already been three days? Maryse rubbed her hand against her temple, trying to make her thoughts clear.

"Jocelyn," said a male voice further away. "Calm down, yelling at her isn't going to help anybody." She looked past Jocelyn, who was standing as stiff as a board, to see Luke walking calmly towards them. He set his hand on top of Jocelyn's shoulder, but she immediately shook it off.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Luke," she replied, gesturing her arms wildly in the air. "I trusted her and Jace to keep my daughter safe here," she said pointing directly at Maryse. "Clearly, I made a mistake," she snipped.

"I know how you feel," Luke continued hesitantly. "I love Clary as if she were my own, but we can't just be irrational about this."

Jocelyn took a deep breath and then turned her body so that it was facing Maryse again. She looked so tall to Maryse, who was still sitting in her chair. "Where is my daughter?" She asked again with more composure.

"Uhm," she said, scratching her head and not meeting Jocelyn's piercing green eyes. "Sebastian broke into the Institute a-and took her."

Jocelyn's eyes almost popped out of her head at that piece of information, while Luke stiffened noticeably. "What?" she asked, her voice shaking. She walked closer to Maryse's desk and slammed her hands down on the table. "How could you and Jace let this happen?!"

"We didn't think that Sebastian would break into the Institute," she said, getting angrier at Jocelyn's attitude and how she could easily blame the entire situation on them. Her voice was much stronger now when she talked. "We thought that we made sure that she was safe."

Jocelyn scoffed, while an angry tear escaped her eye. "And where is Jace now? Hiding in his bedroom?"

"No," she said, sharply. "He went willingly to protect _your daughter _from Sebastian because that is how he was raised. _That_ is how deeply he cares for her," she ended, sitting up straighter in her chair.

Jocelyn clenched her fists and shut her eyes as Luke wrapped his hand around hers. "You can't blame her.." he started, but then was cut off by Jocelyn again.

"Luke, stop defending her," she practically yelled. "She doesn't understand. I cannot lose my daughter; I've already almost seen it happen too many times."

"I know _exactly _how you feel," Maryse shouted, standing up from her chair violently. "If you didn't realize already, _my son _went willingly into the same danger that Clary is currently in. Not to mention the fact that my other two children are right now going out on a rescue mission to save them. I have not just one, but _three_ of my children in danger right now. I've already lost one child," she said, shaking her head. "I cannot lose another. So, yes, I know exactly how you feel right now," she finished, leaning forward on the desk so that her face was close to Jocelyn's.

Jocelyn shut her eyes, causing a crease in her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, Maryse. I didn't even think."

Maryse stepped away from Jocelyn and gripped her chin. "It's okay," she said quietly.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Luke asked, breaking the silence that filled the room.

"Magnus, Alec, Isabelle, and Simon are heading to Idris to save them already. So the best thing that we can do now is to stay where we are. If they need anything, we have the resources," Maryse said, walking around the desk, so that there was nothing blocking them. She looked at Luke, who nodded, then at Jocelyn, who still had a couple stray tears making their way down her cheek. She had gone through so much with these people, and she couldn't let Sebastian's evil actions tear them apart. That's what he wanted. She walked closer to Jocelyn and wrapped her arms around her slender body. Jocelyn gasped in surprise, not expecting the comforting gesture, which was very out of Maryse's character. After a moment of hesitation, Jocelyn returned the hug and shut her eyes trying to block everything out. "It's going to be okay," Maryse whispered, while Jocelyn nodded her head into Maryse's shoulder. They needed to be there for each other, just like their children had been there for each other for the past months. Sometimes they were braver then the parents ever were.

**00000**

"Are you ready?" Magnus asked all of them, standing outside of his apartment. They all nodded their heads, waiting for Magnus to open the portal. "Okay." Blue sparks flew from his hands as a portal appeared slowly on the red brick wall. Snow flew left and right as the wind picked up. He looked at all of them again and nodded. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from then on. He looked first at Simon, who was staring at Isabelle in adoration. There were snowflakes sitting on top of Isabelle's head, which created a great contrast against her black hair. Simon carefully took her hand and led her to the portal. They both looked up at each other, and for a moment Magnus felt as though he were intruding on a private conversation, but all they did was nod and then jump in to the swirling circle resting on the wall. Their bodies faded into the mist.

Magnus began walking towards the portal, ready to jump through, but he felt a pressure in his hand. He looked down to see Alec's hand gripping his own. He attempted to pull his hand away, but Alec refused to let go. He looked quickly back up into his amazing blue eyes and saw Alec shaking his head. "We do this together," he said firmly, shaking Magnus' hand. "Like we do everything together, and I don't care what you say." Before Magnus could even respond, Alec was pulling him through the portal. The portal enveloped them. They were eventually lost within the mist, heading towards Idris. Together.

**00000 **

Clary shut her eyes and refused to open them after taking one last look at Jace, while the door creaked open. Her hands were in fists on the floor and she put her head to the side in defiance, trying to shield herself from Sebastian with her red curtain of hair. She heard boots echoing on the floors and the rattle of chains. "Clarissa," he said, close to her face now. "Are you ready to have some fun?" Clary gulped at his menacing tone and opened her eyes slowly. A leap of fear grew inside of her as she looked into those same black holes.

**_Was that as depressing as I thought that was? I swear, I do want the characters to be happy. Eventually. I know that nothing super eventful happened, but I thought that there were some pretty cute and sad moments in there. Anyways, again I am sorry for not updating as fast as I would have liked to, but I had so much homework. _**

**_Tell me what you thought! I would love if you could review! ;) _**


	6. Sparkling Lights and Broken Glass

**Chapter 6 – Sparkling Lights and Broken Glass**

**_AN: Hey hope everybody had an amazing week! Here's chapter six! _**

**_Disclaimer: All props go to Cassandra Clare. I just mess around with her characters. _**

Simon, Isabelle, Magnus, and Alec all set their bags down in the open entrance way of the Inquisitors house, which is where they decided to stay because of Isabelle and Alec's dad's new position on the council. Isabelle was leaning her whole body against the door, exhausted. She cracked her neck once and straightened her shoulders before pushing past the boys and finding a room. "Dad will probably be back later tonight," she stated, walking towards the stairs placed just down the hall.

"Well, shouldn't we get to work?" Alec asked her, confused, still standing by the door with Magnus and Simon.

"Alec, I'm exhausted, and I am damn sure that you three are as well," she scoffed, turning around to face them; her hand was set on the railing, while the other held her bag. "Look, we can't do any good if we're dead on our feet. We need to think rationally about our situation. All we have been doing is planning and working our butts off for the past three days, and we all need to take a break. I say, that we get a good night's rest and then tomorrow morning we get right back to work," she sighed, closing her eyes. "I want to find them as fast as possible too, but we won't be doing anything productive if we're half asleep."

Alec opened his mouth as if he were about to make an argument when Isabelle opened her eyes. She noticed that he was about to reply and immediately turned her tired eyes into a glare, telling him to shut up. Alec snapped his mouth shut and flew his hands up in surrender, knowing that Isabelle would surly kick his butt with her heels. Isabelle the turned sharply on her heel and made her way up the stairs, leaving the three boys in the entrance way.

She stalked up the two flights of stairs and found an empty bedroom just down the hallway. She threw her bag down on the bed in the corner of the room, and sat down next to it. The mattress made creaking sounds underneath her weight and she could faintly hear muffled sounds below her. Low voices could be heard through the floors and she sighed loudly, putting her head in her hands. She wished that they would listen to her for once and get some rest, instead of planning ahead without her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sat up abruptly, ignoring the little voice inside of her head telling her to go lecture the guys. She made her way out of the bedroom and looked up and down the short hallway. She noticed an open doorway to her left and saw clothing hung on the edge of the bed. _Dad's_ _room_, she thought to herself. Curiosity got the better of her as she quietly opened the door and slid into the room.

Isabelle looked around the room and was not surprised. The room was practically spotless with the exception of some shirts on the bed, which she saw earlier. She still didn't know why she had come in here in the first place; it was as if her body were doing things on its own command. She kneeled down next to her father's bedside table and slid open the drawer. It was mostly empty, she noticed, as she lifted her chin up to look inside. There were a few loose papers and some dust within it, but other than that it was mostly empty. Isabelle started to close the drawer when she noticed a glimmer catching in the light, which sparked inside the almost closed drawer. Isabelle stopped. She squinted and saw the light causing a silver flash off of something inside. She reached her hand in and pushed some papers around as she felt a hard object push against her strong hand. It felt cool on her skin while she pulled it out to examine it.

Her heart dropped to her feet as realization dawned on what was in her hand. She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head in sadness and frustration before she looked back down at her mother's family ring. She threw it back into the drawer and slammed it shut. Her father had taken his ring off. Isabelle was outraged. She stood up and slammed her hand down on the table, causing it to rattle. As soon as she hit the table a picture frame tumbled off the edge and smashed against the hardwood floors, making Isabelle cringe. She was instantly brought back to reality as she picked up the frame gently, little shards of glass falling to the ground. She flipped it over and stared at the picture in awe.

It was a picture of herself, Jace, Alec, and Max sitting on the front steps of the institute. _Max_. The thought brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She drifted her fingers over Max's face lightly. She could remember that day perfectly. It was before Clary even came into their lives. They were out on the front steps laughing at a joke Max had told them when they heard Maryse snap the photo. She smiled at the memory, remembering how life used to be, but she could no longer dread on the past. She gripped the broken frame in her hands, her knuckles turning white. "Isabelle?"

Isabelle's head snapped towards the open door. She looked up to see her father, standing in the door frame, staring confusedly at her. "What are you doing in here?" Robert asked, a bit of anger tracing his voice. She realized then that the low voices of the boys downstairs had stopped, and she internally cursed at herself that she didn't prevent this from happening.

Isabelle looked down at the pieces of glass in her hands and then back up to her father, unsure of what to say. She felt as if she were a little kid again getting reprimanded by her parents. "I-I'm sorry, I'll clean it up," she said, standing up and setting the frame back on the table. She made her way to the door keeping her head down, but her father's voice stopped her.

"That's not what I meant and you know that. I don't care about a broken picture frame," he said, stepping inside the room. "Why did you come in here, Isabelle?"

"I don't know. I saw that the door was open and I just…" she broke off into a whisper, shrugging.

"You shouldn't intrude on someone else's personal area. You know better than that," he scolded, walking behind Isabelle to pick up the glass.

Before he could even kneel down, Isabelle was talking again. "Why?"

"Excuse me?" he asked a bit astonished, turning around to face Isabelle's back. "What do you mean 'why'?"

Isabelle shrugged again, turning around to face her father, while all of the shyness left her body and was replaced with anger. "Well, why?" she asked again. "I mean you almost sound worried Dad, like there was something in here that you didn't want me to find."

"Isabelle," he warned.

"No," she raised her voice, slapping her hands down on her thighs. "I am so _sick_ of all the lies and secrets that are being kept in this family. Jace is missing Dad, _missing, _and you didn't even think to call. Mom is a _wreck_, and it never even crossed your mind once," she nearly screamed, holding her finger up in the air. "To call home. It's as if you don't even care about us anymore. Jace, Mom, or anybody." She finished throwing her hands up in the air.

Robert looked shocked in a way that Isabelle had never seen her father. He had always been the composed one, never letting anything show. "Of course I care, Isabelle, I love all of you."

"Really?" Isabelle asked. She knew that she was pushing her luck, but all of her sensibility flew from her mind at that moment. "Then where's your ring Dad?" Her voice wavered a bit, while a new pool of tears filled her eyes. _God, I am so sick of crying._

He looked down at his hand and then up again at Isabelle. "Isabelle, your Mom and I aren't going through the best of times right now, but it's nothing that you have to worry about."

"I know more than you think I know," she laughed, humorlessly. "I know a hell of a lot more than you think. I'm not stupid, and I'm tired of everyone thinking that I am."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, as his eyebrows furrowed.

She scoffed and walked out the door. "Just forget it, Dad." She ran down the hall and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut and leaving her father to clean up all the mess. She was tired and didn't want to clean up the sharp, glass pieces. Just like she didn't feel like cleaning up their family's broken pieces and trying to put them back together, once again.

**O|O|O**

His face was so close to her own, that she could feel his body heat. Clary bit the inside of her cheek and clenched her hands into fists to prevent from shaking. She wasn't going to show Sebastian any sign of weakness; the satisfaction he would gain from that would make her hate him even more than she does now. If that were even possible. "What are you going to do to me?" She asked confidently, shaking her head from side to side.

"Well," he sneered, cupping the side of her face with his hand. Clary flinched away in response, which caused Sebastian to grip her even tighter. She could faintly her Jace's protests in the background, but she pushed that thought away almost as soon as it came to her mind. She needed to focus, and worrying about Jace would be the only thing that could make her lose her focus. "I think that we should continue where we left off, on that night at the apartment, before the ritual at the Burren. Surly, you remember?" Clary could feel her heart pump louder in chest as he used his other hand to grip around her waist.

She shut her eyes and turned her head to the side. "I am not a doll. You can't just play with me when you feel like it." she said, her voice coming out a bit shaky, while she spat each word out separately.

Sebastian leaned forward so that his mouth was right by her ear. "Aw, sister dear, come on. We've done this before, why not do it again."

Clary was fully shaking now from the fear of her brother, no matter how desperately she tried to control it. She could feel his lips against the side of her cheek as he talked. "You are _sick_," Clary said through gritted teeth.

Jace was full on screaming by now as Sebastian kissed his way down Clary's cheek. Clary's eyes were still shut tightly as she tried to picture herself somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Suddenly the pressure of Sebastian's lips were off of her skin. He stood up and turned around to face Jace. Clary opened her eyes and gasped silently. Jace had blood streaming down his wrists from his constant struggle to get to her and his whole body was lit up like a Christmas tree. There were some burn marks on the wall, but the chains still stayed in place. "Still can't make that Heavenly Fire work can you?" Sebastian asked, grinning. "Too bad, I was really looking forward to some sort of a challenge."

Jace didn't make a comment about his Heavenly Fire, as all of his thoughts were on Clary. "Stop touching her. She didn't do anything," he seethed, pulling the chains once more in frustration.

Sebastian chuckled, making the hair on Clary's skin stand. "Brother, can you not learn to share? You've already had your fun with Clary, have you not? I mean, those little scratches I had on my back were proof enough." Jace didn't reply. He moved his gaze off of Sebastian's face and to the cracked floor instead. Clary could see Sebastian's eyes grow wider in realization. "Oh, so you two haven't done the deed," he snickered in amusement. "I just kind of assumed."

"Shouldn't you know better than to assume things by now?" Jace asked, the sarcastic tone returning to his voice. "That really is all you do. You assumed that you could make Clary love you. You assumed that you could make me your puppet, essentially, and now you assume that your plan is actually going to work, and that Clary and I are going to stand by your side while you do it. But guess what? That is never going to happen."

Sebastian took a step closer to Jace, shaking his head and smiling. "I never needed you as my puppet. In fact, I don't really need you at all. All I need is my dear sister to sit by me while I change _everything. _She will choose me over you, too bad you won't be there to see it as you'll probably be dead by then."

Clary wanted to plug her ears and ignore all of the horrible things that Sebastian was saying. She couldn't imagine a world without Jace in it. The thought itself scared her more than the things that Sebastian was capable of doing to her.

"You know very well that if you killed me," Jace said, never once shifting his gaze from Sebastian's. "Clary would never forgive you, let alone love you," he ended, sitting back against the wall.

Sebastian snapped his head around to look at Clary again, obviously annoyed by Jace's comments. "Are you not tired of _always_ being the damsel in distress Clary? That is what you are, right?" He asked her, staying in his place. Clary felt each word like a slap to the face. "I know that nobody would ever tell you because everybody who loves you cares about _your feelings_," he continued, mocking fake hurt. "But, you really are the weak one. How many times has your little crew needed to save you? How many times have _you _dragged _them _down? Wouldn't their lives be so much easier and peaceful without you in it? You know I'm right."

Clary could no longer hold it in. An angry tear escaped her eye as she looked at Sebastian with pure hatred. She hated the fact that everybody thought that she was just a little girl and that she was the one who always need protecting, just as she loathed the fact that she was letting Sebastian see her cry. She looked over at Jace who was already staring straight at her. There was a pleading look in his eyes, telling her not to listen to him. He shook his head from side to side. She looked away and towards the floor, not enjoying the weight of their gazes on her.

Sebastian scoffed. "I have some business to attend to, but I will be back, Clary, to finish what we have tried to start so many times before. Third times the charm, am I right?" He winked before he turned on his heel and exited the room, shutting the door once again, trapping them in. Clary bit her lip as she looked back up at Jace, who had a shocked and confused look plastered onto his face. Clary blinked a couple times to get the tears out of her eyes and gulped.

**O|O|O**

Alec hurried back into his room, which was across from Isabelle's, after overhearing her conversation with their father. He knew that it wasn't right to eavesdrop on private conversations, but he needed to find out where the yelling was coming from. He closed the door shut behind him and stationed his forehead on the door, closing his eyes. Everybody knew that Robert and Maryse weren't doing the best at the moment, but Alec always tried to ignore that fact. He didn't want to deal with it.

Suddenly, he heard the creaking of the bed behind him, and he turned around to see none other than Magnus standing in front of him. He had his bag placed next to Alec's on the floor and his catlike eyes were basically glowing in the evening light coming from the window. "What are you doing in here?" Alec asked, slightly confused.

"There aren't very many rooms in this place," Magnus shrugged. "I could sleep on the couch downstairs if you really want, or I could go crash in with Isabelle and Simon, but I highly doubt that you would want to know what is probably going to go on in there tonight." Alec shivered at the thought.

"No, its fine, I don't care. I just thought that you would," Alec said, ending in a whisper that was barely audible.

Magnus sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Do you want to get into this right now?"

Alec shook his head, deciding not to reply. Truthfully, he didn't want to get into it tonight. He was exhausted, even though he would never admit that to his sister. He walked over to the bed and pulled the covers down ready to go to sleep, having already changed beforehand after his Dad went upstairs. Magnus was already changed as well; he walked over to the closet and pulled out an extra pillow and blanket. He set it down on the hardwood floor as Alec pulled the covers up and over his body. Magnus shut off the light and closed the curtains before doing the same on the floor. They both pretended to sleep silently in the dark for a couple minutes, Magnus' back facing away from him, when Alec couldn't take it anymore. "You don't have to sleep on the floor," Alec said, timidly.

Magnus exhaled and then sat up and turned around to face Alec. They could barely see each other in the darkness. "Alec," Magnus whispered.

"No, I mean it," Alec insisted, sliding over to give Magnus room on the bed, so that his back was up against the wall. He patted the open space next to him before continuing. "You aren't going to be able to help us at all tomorrow if you're too sore from sleeping on the hardwood. Please?"

Magnus rubbed his eyes, while picking up his pillow and blanket reluctantly, and laying down on the bed next to Alec. He was on his back, looking up at the chipped ceiling, while Alec was on his side, facing him. Alec slowly moved his hand down towards Magnus' and grasped it firmly, refusing to let go even through Magnus's protests. "Alec," Magnus said roughly. "We-we can't."

"Please, Magnus. Can we not just pretend everything is back to the way it was? Just for tonight," Alec pleaded. Magnus shut his eyes very tight, causing a wrinkle in his forehead. He didn't reply to Alec's question, but he didn't try to pull away again, so Alec took this as an agreement. So they fell asleep together in the dark, holding on to each other's hands desperately, and pretending that everything was alright. Even though it wasn't.

**O|O|O**

Isabelle looked up from her hands when she heard Simon come into the room and sit on the bed next to her. She realized that he had already changed into sleeping clothes as he put his arm around her shoulders and drew her into his body. If vampires produced body heat, she would have been able to feel the heat coming off of him through his t-shirt. She sighed and wrapped an arm around his torso, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "You okay?" He asked, kissing the top of her head.

She nodded. "Just tired I guess."

"So am I. It's been a long couple of days."

She noticed something off about his voice and looked up hesitantly at his face. He looked drained and tired, and something about his voice worried her. "Are _you_ okay?" She pushed away from him gently to get a better look at him. She looked down at his gamer tee and along his arms, gasping. All over his arms she could see his veins stand out like ink smeared on paper. They were a greyish colour, and something she would have totally missed had she not been looking for them. "Simon! When's the last time you fed?" She asked, worried, grabbing his arm tightly to get a better look.

Simon sighed. "I'm fine Iz, really."

"No you're not! When was the last time that you ate?" She asked again, more urgently this time.

He ran his hand over top of his head and moved his shoulders up. "I don't know," he admitted. "A couple days ago?"

"Simon! Are you crazy! Why didn't you tell anybody?" She asked, outraged.

"Because it's fine Izzy. _I'm _fine, Iz," he tried to assure her, pulling his arm away from her grasp.

"You're obviously not fine, Simon," she exclaimed, gesturing to his veins. "Why haven't you fed? You could have passed out at any moment and we wouldn't have even known why!"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've just been busy; I forgot."

"Forgetting to eat is like forgetting to put on pants in the morning, Simon! You need to eat, now," she said, brushing her dark hair away from her neck and looking up at him expectantly. She gestured to her neck. "Here."

Simon backed away slightly and looked in the opposite direction. "Iz, I can't," Simon said, his voice shaking.

"Of course you can. Stop being ridiculous," she replied, glaring at him now.

"I can't!" He yelled through gritted teeth and stood up to back away from the bed where Isabelle was sitting. His body was now pressed behind the wall. He could feel his fangs starting to sharpen in his mouth and tried to calm down his thoughts. "I can_not_ risk hurting you," he said again, more desperately.

Isabelle sat up off the bed and walked over to him. She saw him try to move away, but she placed her hands on his shoulders before he could actually do so. "You are not going to hurt me. I'm not fragile and you know that," she assured him.

He shook his head back and forth in disbelief. "Don't you remember what happened the last time I fed on human blood? I couldn't control myself, and look what happened. I almost killed her! If it weren't for Jordan she would be dead!" He looked down into her brown eyes and pleaded. "I can't let myself do this and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I hurt you in any way."

"And I wouldn't be able to forgive _myself_ if you die because you wouldn't take of yourself," Isabelle retorted, not taking no for an answer.

"Iz, please don't make me do this," Simon whispered, cupping her face.

"I trust you," she whispered back, moving her hair once again from her neck to give him better access. "I always have and I always will."

She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his face closer. She could hear Simon's, unnecessary, and uneven breathing as he put his mouth against her neck and bit. She gasped, feeling Simon's teeth enter her skin. She drew him even closer to her, if that was even possible and brought her hands up to the back of his head, gripping his hair. Almost as soon as it had started, it stopped. Her neck suddenly felt very empty as he removed the pressure of his teeth from her skin. His pupils were a bit larger, but they quickly returned to their normal size; he looked down at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, positioning his hands on her shoulders.

Isabelle nodded in response. "I'm fine. I'm not broken, see?" She stepped away from him and twirled in a circle, giving Simon a full view of her. Her hair whipped around in the air as she turned and she smiled to reassure him. "Please don't hesitate next time," she said, after she finished twirling. "If you ever need to, you can."

Simon gave her a little smile and stepped closer to her, grabbing her waist. He placed his forehead on top of hers, while her arms wrapped around his neck. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.

"We should probably go to sleep," she said, stepping away from him and unfolding the covers.

"Okay," Simon agreed, grabbing her arm that was holding the blanket. "But first, I really have to do this." He swung her around so that their bodies were now touching and she gasped in shock. He automatically captured her lips with his own, not giving her time to think, which, for the first time, she was grateful for. She didn't want to think about anything else right now, but _this_.

**_Oh my god that Sizzy. I hope you enjoyed chapter six! I was thinking of writing another one shot, separate from this, so if you had any prompts or ideas of clace fluff or anything else you would like, let me know! Of course, I wouldn't be spending any less time on this story. Trust me, it is far from over! I will probably be doing a Sebastian POV next chapter. And next chapter there will be WAY MORE CLACE, so get excited._**

**_Please Review, Review, Review!_**


	7. Peeling Wallpaper

**Chapter 7 – Peeling Wallpaper**

**_AN: Hope everybody had a fantastic week! Thank you so much for the reviews, they inspire me to keep writing and they make my day. And I hope everybody likes chapter 7! I'm excited guys, whoop whoop. ;) _**

**_Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns all of her characters. I want to apologize to her for continuously putting them through horrible situations. *Hides behind book*. _**

Sebastian walked through the halls of his new apartment; his face as cold as stone. Thoughts were flying in and out of his mind at a rapid pace and he couldn't help but keep picturing _her _face, while tears escaped her eyes. It was as if her red curls were burned to the inside of his eyelids. _She will love me. _Sebastian thought as he punched his fist through the drywall next to him. The impact didn't make him wince even though his knuckles were now a bright red. The old wallpaper was peeling from the walls and he was breathing heavily. _Even if I have to force her to love me. _

"Is everything okay?" He heard a hard, feminine voice behind him and turned around sharply to see Amatis, who had her arms crossed over her chest. Her brown hair fell down over her shoulders and against her blood red uniform, and her blue eyes looked out of place.

Sebastian cocked his head to the side, cracking his neck. "Everything's fine. Could you please go downstairs and unlock Clary," he stated, while Amatis gave him a questioning look. She didn't make a retort back though. She would never defy Sebastian. "But make sure that she doesn't leave the room," he added as an afterthought.

"Of course," she said obediently. "However, if you don't mind me asking, why?"

"I have things that I need to do with her when I get back and it is easier to accomplish those things when she isn't smacking herself against the wall all the time, but it is nothing of your concern."

"Where are you going?"

Sebastian brought his hands up in front of his chin and cracked his knuckles, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

"I just like to know where my leader is," she replied without any hesitation.

"I have some business to attend to," he said sharply, wiping his dried, bloody hands on his white shirt. "Just do what I ask."

His black eyes were piercing through Amatis like the injection of a needle. "Are you sure you don't need backup?"

Sebastian scoffed. "No, I'll be fine," he smirked, turning around to continue walking down the hallway. "I have a certain faerie that I need to speak to."

He stopped at the corner of the hall to turn around and face Amatis once again. His hand was placed against the wasted wallpaper. The sconces in the hall made the area very dim of light, since the ceiling lights were off, and all he could see were highlights of her face. He looked between the wall and her. "Oh, and clean that up," he said, nodding towards the whole in the wall. "Say hello to Clarissa for me," he grinned.

Amatis nodded in response because she had to and because that was all she could do.

**O|O|O**

Clary still hadn't looked at Jace after their encounter with Sebastian only minutes ago. She didn't know what to say or do. She was waiting to let Jace know what happened at the apartment at the right time, but Sebastian had ruined that royally. Her legs were pulled up against her chest and she slowly tucked her head so that it was facing her knees. She brought her hands up to the tops of her kneecaps and played with her nails nervously. _Why am I so nervous? _She scolded herself. _This is your boyfriend. You know you can tell him anything. _She tried to calm herself and her thoughts down, but nothing was working.

"Clary?" She snapped her head up to look at Jace, whose voice was cracking. Clary had never seen Jace like this. His body language was all the same, but his golden eyes that she gets lost in, looked sad and confused and _hurt. _Clary felt like she was going to vomit all over the concrete at any moment.

She tore her eyes away from him and looked at the floor again. "Clary, look at me," he said, his voice was wavering, but there was a sharp tone to it that made Clary peer up at him. "You haven't told me everything about, about what happened when I wasn't …myself, have you?"

Clary bit her lip and shut her eyes. "I told you everything that was important."

"And how is your safety and well-being _not _important?" He asked angrily, causing Clary to wince.

"It's over, done with, in the past, nothing that you need to worry about now, okay?" She replied, her voice coming out stronger than she felt. She opened her eyes to see Jace giving her the most incredulous look. It was a look that Jace rarely used with her.

"Really, Clary? You want to play that card?" She could tell that as the seconds went by that he was getting angrier and angrier. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't _want _to tell you what happened," Clary exclaimed, her voice cracking a little. She could see the heavenly light glowing off of him, which she knew that she had to fix fast. She didn't know what would happen if he burned up too fast, and she didn't want to find out.

"What are you so afraid of, Clary?" He asked more gently, noticing that Clary was getting upset.

Clary put her head into her knees, squishing her face against her kneecaps. She didn't know how to respond because she truly didn't understand what she was actually scared of. She kept her face buried in her knees as she kept talking, gripping her hands together around her legs to prevent them from shaking. "I don't know; I don't want you to see me as a different person, so I guess what I'm most afraid of is your reaction."

"Look at me," Jace whispered precisely. Clary lifted her head up as her hair fell in front of her face. She could feel the tears starting to swell up in her eyes and cursed internally. "There is nothing in the world that you could say that could change the way I feel about you. I don't even think it's possible for me to love you any less. Okay? So no matter what happened, know that I will always love you and that will never change."

Clary couldn't help but notice how stunning he looked even with angry scratches covering his face. She knew that he was telling the truth from the way that he looked at her as he tried to do anything possible to get closer to her. She took a shaky breath and looked up at the ceiling. She rested the crown of her head on the wall behind her. There was no way that she could look at him while talking without totally falling apart.

"I almost killed him that night while you were at the Burren, waiting for the ritual to begin. I had a shard of glass at his throat, just _millimetres _away from his neck." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "But I couldn't do it. He reminded me that he was connected to you, and I couldn't even imagine a life without you, so I couldn't do it. The look on his face made me want crawl into a hole and hide. He was _so_ overjoyed." She stopped to rub her hands over her eyes. "He kept saying over and over how I belonged to him and telling me information about royal bloodlines to make me think that what he was feeling was even remotely okay. I was trapped underneath him, and he began playing with the button at my jeans, and I hate to admit it, but I am _terrified_ about what's going to happen when he comes back because he said that he wanted to finish what he tried to start-" Clary broke off, tears were finally making their way down her face as she tried to catch her breath. They were flowing down her face as fast as the weight of telling him what had happened was coming off of her shoulders. Something that she had been carrying around for weeks now.

Silence filled the room other than Clary's quiet sobs. She removed her hands from her eyes to look up at Jace through the tears that were still making their way down her cheeks. His teeth were gritted together and his eyebrows were furrowed. She could see the glow on his skin becoming more prominent now as he took in the new information. "Please say something," Clary pleaded, noticing that his silence was worse than any other way he could have responded.

"I am so sorry, Clary," Jace croaked, shaking his head back and forth.

"It's not your fault, Jace. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it," she whispered, bringing her hands up to wipe the tears off of her face.

"I know," he said frustratingly, rubbing his palm harshly against his forehead. "But I'm supposed to protect you and be there for you, and I wasn't. I mean, I know that I couldn't have done anything to change what happened, but I should have noticed _something_ these past couple of weeks. We spend so much time together and I didn't even realize how much you were probably hurting. You've been keeping this all on yourself, and for that I am so sorry," he finished, a look of pure self-hatred and sadness plastered onto his face.

"You don't need to apologize. You have been there for me in all the ways that I needed, so don't you dare think poorly of yourself."

Jace was still shaking his head, looking straight at her. His golden strands of hair were stuck to the side of his face. "Did you honestly think that the way that demon acted," he continued, pointing at the door. "Would change how much I love you?"

Clary shrugged in response, not knowing what to say. She looked down at her paint-splattered converse and played with the holes in her jeans.

Jace sighed. "I wish I knew what you were thinking, right now and all of the time," he said, looking at her with wonder and resting his head on his hand.

"That's a bit creepy, Jace," she said, the corner of her mouth lifting up as she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Jace laughed and closed his eyes momentarily. "You know what I mean. What _are_ you thinking right now?"

Clary pursed her lips and shook her head. Her eyes narrowed and that feeling of tears overwhelmed her again as her thoughts pushed her back into reality. Jace, seeing the way she was acting, knew immediately what was going on inside her head. "I will never let him touch you again, Clary, alright? I'll kill him before he even comes close to touching you."

Clary shook her head faster from side to side, shutting her eyes tightly. "You won't be able to do anything when he comes back, Jace. You're chained up and what Sebastian wants, Sebastian gets."

"Clary," Jace began, but she cut him off before he could continue.

"No, Jace, I'm being realistic and I am trying to prepare myself for what's ahead, and false hope isn't going to do that."

Clary knew that she was being very negative with the situation that they were currently in, but the past couple of days were taking their toll on her, and there was nothing that she wanted more than to be able to go home. "Hope is all we have right now, Clary," he whispered, while a sad smile grew on his face.

She looked at him again and nodded her head. "I know." Before she could continue the door creaked open. Clary squinted as the light from outside poured over her and her heart started to slam in her chest. When the door slammed shut she was surprised to see that it, in fact, wasn't Sebastian.

Relief washed over her when she saw a shorter woman in the darkness. She heard Jace struggle with the chains in the corner and waited for her eyes to adjust back to the darkness, but before she could, there was a firm and harsh grip on her forearm. Clary attempted to pull her arm away, but the small hand was holding on tightly. She looked up again, after her eyes adjusted to the light, to see a familiar face. "Amatis?" Clary asked in amazement. She knew that Amatis had to be around here somewhere, but she was shocked that Sebastian would let anyone else down here.

Amatis didn't say anything back, but instead took out a small key and commenced putting the key within the locks on the shingles. Clary instantly stopped struggling after realizing what she was doing. Clary then rubbed at her bruised, red wrist and waited for Amatis to finish taking the rest of them off.

After she was free of her shingles, Clary stood up hesitantly to stand in front of Amatis, and was momentarily thrown off by the resemblance of Luke and Amatis. _Luke_. She looked away to clear her head and then looked back at Amatis, wearing her red gear.

"What's going on?" Clary asked dryly, still rubbing her wrists.

"Sebastian told me to let you out of your restraints," she replied with no emotion in her voice.

"Oh, so Sebastian has finally realized that I'm not a dog, who can be put on a leash?" Clary retorted mockingly. She heard Jace snicker behind them and realized that she could finally go and touch him again. She started to make her way towards him when a hand pushed against her chest, causing her to stumble back to where she was previously standing.

"Just so we're clear," Amatis told her without hesitation. Her hand was still pressed into Clary's collarbone. "If you decide to have one of you 'heroic' moments, that you two seem to like having," she commented, looking between the two. "I won't hesitate to hang you to the ceiling by your fingers. And if Sebastian has a problem with that then instead I will do it to your precious little boyfriend." There was no emotion in her voice at all; it remained monotone the entire time.

Clary couldn't keep biting her tongue anymore as that same resemblance thought returned to her head. "This isn't you Amatis," Clary said sadly, shaking her head. "Luke wouldn't want this. _You_ wouldn't want this."

Amatis removed her hand from Clary slowly, never once shifting her gaze. "You have no idea what I want."

"I know that you would never want to be led by Sebastian. You would have rather died than take orders from him."

"I'm not going to listen to this," she said, turning towards the door. "The Clave was clouding my judgement back then, but Sebastian has made things so much clearer. I owe everything to him." She opened the door, while light, once again, poured into the room. "Sebastian will be back soon, so be ready to do whatever he tells you to do if you know what's best for you and Jace. Don't get any funny ideas Clarissa," she ended, closing and locking the door with a loud slam.

As soon as she heard the door close, Clary ran over to Jace and landed in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his muscular body and leaned her head into his shoulder. He embraced her as well and kissed the top of her forehead. She was sitting in his lap now and when she loosened her arms to look up at him, he was already staring down at her. "I know you've been right across the room from me this whole time, but I have missed you so much, and it feels like it's been forever since I did this," he finished, leaning in quickly to capture her lips with his own. Both of his hands cupped her face as her hands went up to his shoulders. She closed her eyes and tried to forget everything that was going on around her, so that she could just focus on this moment. She hadn't even realized how much she craved this until now, it felt like years since the last time she was able to touch him, hold him, _kiss_ him.

Jace released her lips reluctantly, needing air, but kept his hands on her face. He looked down into her eyes as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world. "I love you," she whispered. He gave a sweet smile in return, which was all the response that she needed. She turned around so that her back was now leaning against his stomach. His head was resting on top of hers and her made slow circles up her arms with his fingers. "Jace?"

"Yeah?" He asked, worried.

"Do I weigh you down?" She asked, rubbing her lips together.

Jace hesitated before responding, stopping the movement up and down her arms. "You can't listen to what he says. You can't let him get to you."

"You didn't answer the question," she noted, disappointed.

"Clary, you're only in training, you can't compare yourself to Alec, Izzy, and I. We've been doing this for our whole lives."

"So, your answer would be yes," she confirmed, turning so that she was facing him.

"You'll get there eventually, Clary," he replied, placing his hand gently on her arm in reassurance. Clary nodded, but didn't say anything to respond. "Clary," he said, beginning to apologize until Clary spoke again.

"No, Jace, I get it. I'm not mad," she said, ending with a small smile.

"You aren't weak though Clary. You're the strongest person that I've ever met," he stated, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. "And don't even think for a moment that my life would be _easier_ without you in it. If anything it would be harder. You've made me such a better person, and I don't think that I'll ever be able to repay you for that."

Clary leaned into him once again; her lips were so close to his and their foreheads were touching. She wove her hand up to the top of his head to grip his hair gently. "You already have," she whispered before she closed the little of amount of space between them to kiss him again. It was as if she could never get enough of him; of the feeling of being with him. The kiss began to get more heated as Jace reached his arms around her waist to pull her chest against his own. He slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt, and rested his hands on her bare skin. They both froze with their lips still touching when the door creaked open once again. She shut her eyes securely and held on to Jace tighter as if being close to him could shield her away from the nightmare that was walking through the door.

**O|O|O **

Simon looked up from the table that he, Alec, and Magnus were sitting at in the dining room to see Isabelle walking down the stairs. She looked way better with some sleep than she did the other day. She pulled the chair out, which made a squeaking sound against the hardwood, and sat down next to Simon and across from Alec. "Okay, I'm ready," she confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Alright what's our plan? How do we find Jace and Clary?" Simon asked, looking at Alec.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, shifting his gaze.

"Well, I can't track them anymore, they won't show up."

"If you were an evil, disgusting demon where would you go in Idris?" Isabelle asked everybody at the table, holding her hands together on top of the wooden surface.

Everyone was quiet, thinking, not knowing where to suggest first. "Lake Lyn," Alec whispered to himself.

"What?" Isabelle asked, not hearing what he had just said.

"Lake Lyn," he said again more clearly.

"Why there?" Simon questioned, shaking his head slightly in confusion. "Out of every possible place in Idris?"

"I mean think about it," Alec said, getting more excited as he worked the pieces out in his mind. "That's where Valentine died. That's where he almost succeeded in his ritual. That's the place where the Angel Raziel rose. It makes perfect sense. Sebastian isn't a sentimental person, but if he cared about anyone's approval it would be Valentine's. That's what he tried to prove his whole life. He probably wants to finish his own plan where Valentine left off."

Isabelle nodded her head. "You're right. It's worth a shot," she said, exhaling and looking at her brother still. "We should leave within the hour to go search, so get ready, and pack anything that we may need."

After Alec nodded his head in approval Isabelle stood up from the chair, ready to leave the room to get prepared herself, when Alec's voice stopped her. "What happened to your neck?"

Her back was facing him, but Simon could tell from his angle that she was blushing and that her eyes grew a bit wider. She was opening her mouth looking for something to say, while Simon looked down at the floor and bit his lip, scared to look at his girlfriend's overprotective brother.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, reaching up to touch where Simon had bitten her the previous night. "I must have scratched myself in my sleep or something. Don't worry about it," she concluded, starting to climb up the stairs and never once turning around to face her brother. If she did, he would have been able to tell that she was lying almost instantly by the blush painted on her face. Alec didn't question her again, but when Simon looked up he saw that his eyes were narrowed and still watching Isabelle walk up the stairs.

"Okay," Alec murmured to himself in confusion. He stood up from his chair at the same time that Magnus did and was caught off guard. They both looked at each other for a couple of seconds, which felt like a lifetime in Simon's eyes. He felt as if he were imposing on a private, intimate moment.

There was something in the way that they looked at each other that was confusing to Simon. He couldn't quite place his finger on it. Was it affection? No, it was something more serious than that. There was a tension held within the air that snapped like a rubber band when Alec spoke again. "I'm going to go get ready," he said, never once shifting his gaze from Magnus'. He turned his head and body sharply to look at the floor and went to walk up the stairs where Isabelle had just previously left.

Magnus walked around the table to leave as well, but Simon stopped him before he had the chance to leave the room. "Wait," he said, standing up as well to face Magnus who was turning around.

Magnus exhaled in annoyance. "What do you want, Samuel?"

Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. "It still and always will be just Simon," he noted, raising his eyebrows.

"Mm-hm," Magnus said smugly in response.

"Look, I just wanted to thank you," Simon continued, shifting his eye sight between the ground and Magnus.

"For what?"

"For helping us," Simon said. "For doing everything you can to help find Clary and Jace, even though you don't have to."

"I made a promise a long time ago to Jocelyn, that I would be there for her daughter whenever she needed it, and I'm sticking to that promise," he said confidently, sticking his chin up in the air a little bit.

"I know, but it has to be uncomfortable for you, given the circumstances…" Simon ended in a whisper, not wanting to make Magnus angry.

"If you are referring to Alexander, then know that our complications will never get in the way of my job and those same complications really shouldn't be any of your concern." Magnus turned to walk away; his boots made an echoing sound on the ground and little pieces of glitter flew from his hair.

"Do you still love him?" Simon asked with a clear voice. Magnus froze in mid-stride, unmoving.

"What?" Magnus asked breathily, turning around slowly to face Simon again.

"Do you still love him?" Simon repeated.

Magnus hesitated and looked at the ground. "I don't think I could ever stop," he said quietly, just loud enough for Simon to hear him. Simon noticed the pain that was held within his voice, and he knew that Alec had pained him badly. Magnus was hurt, but he was only hurt because he cared deeply for Alec.

Simon stepped closer to him. "Then if I were you I would tell him that. I know what it's like to hold in feelings for years; it sucks, and if you wait too long he will move on. Trust me," he finished, pushing past Magnus to wait in the living room for the others.

**O|O|O **

Isabelle closed her door with her bag slung over her shoulder and walked towards her father's room. She took a deep breath and knocked against the wooden door loudly with the palm of her knuckles when someone touched her shoulder. She turned her head around to see Alec standing behind her with a questioning look on his face. _What are you doing? _He mouthed to her, but she just shook her head and didn't respond.

"Come in," said the voice of her father from the other side of the door.

She opened the door slowly and stepped into the room; Alec standing close behind her. She saw their father lying down on his bed, and reading a book. She squinted, trying to make out the title, but she couldn't see anything from where she was standing. He set the book down on the table next to the still broken picture and stood up to walk closer to them.

As soon as he started to get a couple feet away from her she stepped backwards and closer to Alec, clutching the strap of her bag with both hands. She looked at him with a glare and saw him stop suddenly, noticing her change in body language. "Not that you would care, but I wanted to let you know that we're leaving to go save them, or to try to anyways."

"Isabelle," Alec said in a warning tone from behind them, but Isabelle ignored him and kept talking.

"I just wanted to let you know because, unlike you, I like to tell people what's going on and not leave them questioning."

Robert stepped closer to Isabelle and quickly placed his hands on her shoulders, not letting her step away from him. "I love you, Isabelle," he said, then looked at Alec. "I love both of you, and don't you ever think that I won't."

Isabelle stepped away from him and almost bumped into Alec, never once dropping her gaze from her father's; no matter how badly she wanted to look away. "If you really loved us as much as you say you do then you wouldn't have left us the moment that we needed you the most," she said sharply as she turned away from her father and out of the room, listening to hear Alec walking behind her quietly.

"Isabelle," Robert said from the door frame, looking at both her and Alec on the other end of the hall. She didn't turn around to look at him. "We need to talk about this as soon as you get back, all three of us, Jace included. We have to work this out before things in Alicante get worse."

"Of course Dad," she said into the opposite end of the hallway. "We wouldn't want the_ city_ to get worse, would we?"

Isabelle ran down the stairs, not letting her father say anything more, and leaving Alec and Robert standing in the hallway with blank faces. _How could the city get any more broken than our family is? _She didn't look back.

**_Hope you enjoyed Chapter Seven! Your reviews and comments make my day, so please review if you get the chance! I would love to hear your feedback! _**

**_Until next time… _**

**_^Oh how deep am I? ) _**


	8. Creaking Swing Sets

**Chapter 8 – Creaking Swing Sets**

**_AN: It seems like forever since I last updated! I am so sorry! I try to post once a week as you can probably tell already. I hope that you enjoy the next chapter! _**

**_Disclaimer: Sadly, none of us own the Mortal Instruments or the characters; however, they do belong to the fabulous Cassandra Clare! _**

Sebastian pushed through the long, green vines that hung from the ceiling of The Faerie. They swayed through the open space like a swing set creaking back and forth. He pushed past the faerie guards that were placed outside of the doors to the Seelie Queen, and they didn't even make a move to stop him. Sebastian smirked. Nobody messes with Jonathan Morgenstern, and besides he held a good place within the faeries.

Walking in, he first noticed the long hallway that seemed to drag on for miles, and then, at the end of the hall, laid the Seelie Queen, dressed in a gown made of petals and fabric. Her red hair and blue eyes stood out in all of the green and brown earth tones, which were currently surrounding her. Sebastian noticed how slender her body was on the bed made of twigs and petals, and smirked. Her red hair and slender, petite body made him think of Clary instantly, but that thought vanished as soon as he took a look into her luminescent blue eyes.

After taking a couple of long strides to get to the end of the hallway, Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest and peered down at the Seelie Queen as if he were waiting for something.

"Do you need something?" She asked, expectantly, raising her eyebrow. She sat up slightly on her elbow, waiting for his answer.

"Ah," Sebastian laughed. "No greeting, no small talk, nothing? Doesn't it feel like ages since we last talked? Why don't we catch up a bit?" Sebastian said, jokingly, stepping a foot closer.

She raised her eyebrow up even further as a playful grin grew on her face. "I love small talk. You of all people should know that, Jonathan," she said. "However, when you storm into my Court unannounced and without any warning it does lead me to believe that you came here for something. So, I ask again, is there something that you need?"

"Still a people pleaser, I see," Sebastian retorted back, uncrossing his arms to let them hang against his sides. "It's good to know that you haven't changed."

"I could say the same for you," she said, standing up and off of the bed to stand only a couple of feet away from him. Gravity caused the fabric of the dress to fly down to the floor as the skirt hung on her hips and her red hair sat perfectly on her shoulders. "Although, I do see a bit of joy in your eyes, which is not a very usual trait for you."

Sebastian chuckled lowly. "Well, right now, I have everything that I so desire," he said, gesturing with his hands. "I have my sister, my brother, I have my soldiers, and I have some helpful support from your Court as well. All I need now is to be able to watch the Clave burn up in flames."

"And how are your dear siblings?" She sneered.

"I've put them in their place," Sebastian replied, the side of his mouth curving up. "But that shouldn't be of any concern to you. You've never liked them very much anyways, have you?"

"No, but I have had some fun with them," she said back, giggling slightly. "It's so much fun to mess with their emotions. Especially when theirs are so much stronger than others," she ended bitterly, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, well those emotions can hurt them sometimes. Love will make people do the strangest things, it's sickening."

The Queen clasped her hands together and flew her head back in laughter. "Says the person who keeps taking so many risks just to get his sister back. You do that out of love, do you not? Unrequited love, but love all the same," she snickered.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek in anger, but knew that it wouldn't be smart to take out his anger on her here, in her own home. He cracked his knuckles and tilted his head to the side slightly. "I'm done talking about my siblings with you," he said stubbornly. "You were right; I did come here for something."

"And what," she whispered, closing the space between them to stand right in front of him. She snaked her arm up the front of his shirt to rest on his shoulder and pressed her face closer to his. He could feel her breath against his closed mouth. "Would that be?"

Sebastian snorted in amusement. "Always playing with people's emotions, right?" He stated, rather than asked; as he leaned down to press his lips against hers. He enjoyed the kiss with all of the fire and excitement that came along with it, with kissing someone so _powerful_. But it was nothing like kissing Clary, and the moment that his sister popped into his mind he pulled away.

She stepped backwards and away from him to where she was originally standing, her hand sliding its way down his chest as she did so. She placed her hands delicately on her hips and tilted her chin up in the air. "If you didn't come here for that," she stated, eyeing him suspiciously. "Then what did you come here for?"

"I need your help with something," he replied, crossing his arms once again.

"And what do you need help doing? If it involves the people within my Court to be harmed, you might as well just turn away now and stop wasting your time," she said, sitting back down on her bed and crossing her legs.

"I don't need an army," he replied roughly. "I need your help in burning down the New York Institute," he said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "To make a point to the Clave _and _to my sibling's little friends, who think that they can save the world."

She smiled.

* * *

><p>"We're almost there, I can see it," Isabelle yelled over her should to the three boys. They had just passed Brocelind Plain and were now walking in Brocelind Forest with trees looming over them, creating dark shadows and highlights over their faces. After walking a few more steps, Isabelle saw a glimmering flash of blue around the trees, ahead of her. She broke out into a sprint, not waiting for the boys, as excitement grew inside of her chest.<p>

She broke free of the trees, while the open and fresh air instantly surrounded her. She could smell the water that was right in front of her and saw out of the corner of her eye that the boys had caught up to her. "Let's take a look around," Simon said to everyone, but only looking at Isabelle. He grasped her hand with his own and squeezed once before she nodded her head.

They all stuck together, not wanting to separate, due to what happened only a few days ago. Isabelle let out a shaky sigh as she gripped her seraph blade that was held within her weapons belt with one hand and Simon's hand with the other. Simon gave her a questioning and concerning look when her brown eyes met his.

She bit her lip and responded to his fixed gaze. "What if we don't find anything?" She whispered so that Magnus and Alec, who were walking in front of them couldn't overhear their conversation.

"Then we look somewhere else," Simon stated with confidence. He stopped to grab her shoulders with his hands, not letting her walk any further. "We're going to find them, okay? And we won't stop looking until we do."

"I know but – " she started, but Simon's voice interrupted her so that all she could do was listen.

"No, no but's okay? We _will_ find them, I promise," he said, without any sense of hesitation in his voice. Isabelle sighed and closed her eyes, nodding to respond. "Is everything okay? Is that all that's bothering you?" He asked, probably noticing that she still felt tense under his hands.

"I overheard your conversation with Magnus before I went to pack up my bag," she said, looking at Simon's confused stare. "I know that I probably shouldn't have, and I thought that Alec was going to tell me to go pack when he came up the stairs as well, but he didn't. He just had this weird and… almost embarrassed look on his face. Anyways," she said, shaking her head to clear all of her thoughts. "I want to thank you for what you said to Magnus; it was really sweet and I think that if Alec had heard what you said as well then maybe he would go a bit easier on you for, you know, dating his sister and everything," she ended with the shrug of her shoulders.

Simon nodded his head and narrowed his eyes, turning his head to the slightly, while still keeping his eyes focused on her face. "But?" He asked.

Isabelle coughed a little and looked at the ground. "I heard what you said about holding in your feelings for years, and I know who you're talking about and…" She trailed off as she saw Simon's face. His eyebrow was lifted and he had somewhat of an amused look on his face. Isabelle's cheeks flamed. "What?"

"I'm not used to seeing you jealous, usually it's the other way around," he said, wincing.

"I'm being serious, Simon," she said disappointed, moving away from his grasp.

He grabbed at her arm quickly to swing her back to where she was standing and held both of her hands with his own. He gripped her strong yet delicate hands, not letting her turn away. "Hey," he said, catching her attention. He peered under her eyes that were still looking at the floor until she looked back at him. "You have no reason to be jealous, trust me; there is nobody else that I could ever want."

"Even Clary?" She mumbled, shielding her face with her dark curtain of hair that fell in front of her eyes. "Somebody who you've known and loved your entire life?"

"_Loved_, Isabelle, as 'in the past'," he said, removing one of his hands to tilt her chin up so that she was now peering into his eyes. She could feel the gravel rolling underneath her feet and the wind that blew through her hair. There was no sun in the sky; all that surrounded them was a backdrop of grey clouds. "Yes, I had feelings for Clary, and I still love Clary as a _friend_ now," he said, causing her eyes to falter from his face for a second. "But nothing happened, Isabelle, and for a reason," he ended in a high whisper.

Isabelle could tell by the look on his face that he was being completely serious with her and she could slightly feel butterflies maneuvering their way around her stomach. "And what would that reason be?" She asked as she breathed.

Simon moved the hand that was placed underneath her chin up the side of her cheek and rubbed his finger back and forth slightly for a moment. "Because fate decided that I belonged with someone else; a tall, dark haired, badass shadowhunter that for some unknown reason fell for me as hard as I fell for her. Because I was meant to be with you, Iz."

"I love you," she said, sighing in amazement. She wrapped her arms up and around Simon's neck and flushed her body against his. "The reasons why I love you shouldn't be unknown," she continued, shaking her head. "You make me stronger than anyone else ever has, you've broken down the walls that I built up to keep myself from getting attached to _anyone_, and for that I thank you because if you hadn't I don't think I would have ever opened my heart up."

"You don't need to thank me," Simon replied, rocking his head from side to side.

"Yes," Isabelle said, furrowing her eyebrows and nodding her head. "I really do," she finished before pulling him in closer to kiss him. His hands travelled up her back immediately and clung on to the fabric of her jacket. Her fingers wove through her hair desperately, trying, in any possible way, to get closer to him. The kiss said everything that Isabelle or Simon could not ever say properly with their words. _Thank you._

Simon reluctantly broke apart the kiss and leaned backwards a bit with his hands still gripping her jacket, leaving her gasping. "I hate to break this moment," he said, pained. "But we really do need to find Jace and Clary."

Isabelle released her hands from his hair, enjoying the feeling of his hair running through her fingertips. "Yeah," she responded breathlessly so that Simon could barely hear her.

Simon gave her a small smile that spread even to his eyes, causing Isabelle to smile back. He opened his mouth as if to say something more, but before they could a loud shout sounded off in the distance. They both turned their heads sharply in the direction of the noise to see Alec and Magnus a little ways away, motioning for them to come.

Simon and Isabelle both looked at each other once more before running over to where they were standing. Hand in hand. Letting the gravel settle between the soles of the feet.

* * *

><p>"Get behind me," Jace whispered against Clary's lips, who was still in Jace's lap with her hands clutched around his neck.<p>

"What?" Clary asked, her voice trembling a little.

"Get behind me, Clary, _now_," he said again, a little more urgently now.

"Jace, that's not going to help –" she broke off and leaned her body away from his so that she could peer into his worried eyes.

"Clary, please," Jace continued, pleading with his eyes for her to do what he says. She would have normally made a retort back, but now was not the time, and the look that Jace held within his golden eyes told her to take him seriously. She obeyed reluctantly as she moved around his body. Jace moved away from the wall as fast as he could, while the chains made rattling noises on the ground. Clary hid behind Jace's back just as the light from the door shone on the spot where she was usually restrained. Clary gripped onto the beaten up fabric of Jace's shirt and breathed heavily. She actually hated hiding behind Jace's body even though everything inside of her screamed at her to get as close to Jace as physically possible. She felt so small at that moment, and she hated giving Sebastian the satisfaction of seeing her this way.

She rested her head on his muscular back and breathed in deeply. She then heard chains sliding against the floor. She looked down and to the side to see Jace's hand open for her to take. Clary placed her hand in his, grateful for his touch. He gripped her small and delicate hand immediately, but never once turned around to talk to her again.

The door slammed shut causing her to cringe as she heard a chuckle and boots echoing off of the walls around her. "What are you trying to accomplish by doing that?" Sebastian asked, motioning towards Jace and Clary. She could practically hear the smirk on his face. Jace didn't reply. "We can either do this the easy way," Sebastian said, sighing. "Or we could do it the hard way. And trust me, little brother, you won't like the hard way."

Jace still didn't answer, but looked definitely at Sebastian with a glare. Sebastian scoffed. "Clary," he said, speaking a bit louder as if she were in a totally different room. He looked up at the ceiling while he talked. "Why don't you finish playing this game of hide and seek, and come out from around your little _barrier_ or your boyfriend will get hurt, and that's a promise that I intend on keeping."

Clary gulped, knowing that she had no other choice, and attempted to move around Jace's body to face Sebastian. In response Jace pushed himself further against Clary, trapping her between his body and the hard wall, and never once moving his eyes from Sebastian as he did so.

"Jace," Clary said in a strained whisper.

Jace shook his head back and forth repeatedly. "No, Clary. I know what you're thinking and the answer is no," he said through clenched teeth.

"I can't let him hurt you," she said desperately, trying to reason with him.

"If you getting hurt is the other option, then I don't care what happens to me."

"Jace," she croaked, gripping his shirt tighter between her clenched fists. "You're always the one protecting me. Let me do the same for you."

"Clary," he said painfully, bowing his head down.

Sebastian tapped his foot on the concrete impatiently. "Tick tock, could you hurry this little gag fest up please?" He sneered as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I promise I'll be fine," she whispered. She moved her head up farther on his back to kiss his shoulder softly before she gently pushed him away to stand up and walk in front of Sebastian.

She always felt small around everyone, given her height, but standing beneath her brother felt as though she were looking up at the Eiffel Tower. As soon as Sebastian looked away from Jace, the look that was in his eyes shifted into something scarier than rage that made Clary's insides twist. _Lust. _Sebastian looked up and down her body and then stepped closer to her. He grabbed one of Clary's red curls and let it fall between his fingers, while he smiled. She flinched away from his touch out of reflex, which brought Sebastian's focus back up to her face again.

"I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, Clarissa," he breathed.

Anger flourished inside of Clary's chest. "Whatever you think is between us," she said pointing between the two of them. "You're wrong. Get it through your thick head. I will _never _love you. And the feelings that you have for me are just plain wrong and incestual," she nearly yelled at his face, pushing her luck.

She could see Sebastian getting angrier with every word that she said as if her words were bullets to his heart that caused actual pain. Before she could even take her next breath she was on the floor; the coldness coming off of it pressing into her back. She was gasping for air, while Sebastian had his hand gripped firmly around her neck. She could already feel the bruises that were forming on her skin.

"Stop," she heard Jace yelling just a few feet away from where she was laying.

Sebastian laughed as he removed his hand from her throat, letting her breathe again, and used it to pin both of her hands above her head. She was lying in the center of the room, Sebastian had a leg on either side of her body as he sat on her, and if she looked sideways she could see Jace perfectly clear. "You know, I don't think I will," Sebastian said to Jace, while still looking at Clary. "Because this is something that I want and that you don't have yet. And I want you to watch the _whole _thing."

Loud, shaking breaths were making their way in and out of Clary's lungs as she tried to quiet them down. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed to the Angel that someone would save her.

"You don't have to do this, Sebastian," Jace pleaded, fighting against the chains, even though it was no use. "She's your _sister_," he finished, using the word like a weapon.

"And did that stop you from feeling the exact same way," Sebastian snapped back, looking up at Jace. Jace didn't respond, but instead looked down at the manacles around his wrists to see if there was any possible way to break them. Sebastian scoffed. "Didn't think so."

He looked back at Clary as his eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. Clary shivered and squeezed her eyes shut; too scared to look. He started making kisses down her check and neck, each one feeling like a burn on Clary's skin. He stopped as soon as he got to the collar of her shirt and removed one of his hands to reach for something behind him. As soon as he did this she began to struggle against his hold on her even more. She was thrashing her body around, trying anything to get out from underneath him, while she heard Jace grunting and screaming in the background.

His grip on her was solid though, despite her protests as he used the knife that he grabbed from his pocket to cut a line straight down the center of Clary's shirt. Clary gasped and winced when the blade accidently nipped her skin. Sobs wracked through her body even louder as she realized that he could now have full access to her bra.

She struggled against his arms even more and then, out of frustration, used her knee to kick him hard where she knew it would hurt. He doubled over in pain and dropped the knife to the floor. In that second Clary rolled out from underneath him, but she wasn't fast enough. Sebastian quickly regained his focus and dragged Clary back to where she was by her forearm. He sat on top of her once again, and Clary began to struggle underneath him like she had been doing only moments ago.

Sebastian sighed through clenched teeth. "Looks like you won't be cooperating as much as I wanted you to," Sebastian said, reaching behind him to grab his stele from his other pocket. As soon as the stele touched the skin on her arm she started struggling even further, not wanting to be completely defenseless. However, her struggles were no use as he retracted the stele from her arm, having drawn the rune, and placed it back to where it was originally.

A numb feeling spread all over Clary's body, that started at her fingertips and worked her way down. Her breathing became more rapid as she tried to move any part of her body, but every one of her limbs seemed to be made out of concrete. "Sebastian, please," Clary sobbed, while a few tears streamed down her face. "Not in front of him," she whispered. Sebastian laughed in response, apparently finding this whole situation amusing. She hated crying in front of him and showing weakness, but she didn't know what else she could do.

"Don't worry, Clarissa," he sneered, kissing against her skin right over her bra line. "I promise you'll enjoy it."

She turned her head to the side in defeat, while a few more sobs racked through her body. When she did this she suddenly had a full view of Jace. There was blood streaming down from his wrists from all of the struggling and he wore the most pained look on his face. His eyebrows her drawn together and an angry tear made its way past the rim of his eye as his eyes caught sight of her own. He shook his head in frustration and mouthed silent words to her. _I'm so sorry. _Clary shook her head almost automatically, but before she had the time to respond she felt a tugging pressure at the tops of her jeans.

Clary snapped her head back to Sebastian, at least her neck was capable of moving even though that wouldn't help her very much in this situation, and saw his fingers harshly unbuttoning the button on her jeans. Her eyes grew in realization at where this was going, but despite her protests her body seemed incapable of moving.

Clary started getting restless as the sick feeling in her gut grew faster the more her pulled her jeans down. As soon as her jeans were halfway down her underwear; she began talking. "Sebastian, please," she pleaded again. "I'm not ready for this," she practically yelled, shaking her head back and forth quickly.

She heard the constant rattle of chains booming in her ears and then Jace's voice. "Jonathan," he whispered breathlessly, which caught Sebastian's attention at the use of his full name.

His mouth stopped making kisses down her stomach to look up at Jace; his hands still tight around Clary's jeans. "What?" He asked viciously, obviously annoyed at being interrupted.

"This isn't going to make her love you," he said gently, trying anything to reason with him. "If anything this is going to make her hate you even more. Please, you can't do this to her she doesn't deserve it."

Sebastian scoffed as he slid her jeans even further down to her knees. "Sure, this is about teaching her to love me, which will happen," he said, looking from Jace down to Clary and then back again. "But this is also about destroying you," he said, while his eyes narrowed in amusement.

He then ripped her jeans fully off of her body leaving her completely exposed. Her sobs got louder and louder, knowing that there was nothing that either one of them could do to stop this. She turned her head to the side again, focusing on the cool floor against her cheek rather than Sebastian's burning touch. She saw Jace bow his head in defeat, probably not being able to watch this any further, before she shut her eyes tightly and waited for her nightmare to end.

He started to touch the rim of her underwear and he was about to slid them down as well, when he froze. Clary opened her eyes to hear loud bangs and shouts coming from above them. Jace was now looking at the ceiling in wonder; his eyes wide in confusion.

Sebastian huffed in anger as he stood up and off of Clary's body. He looked between the two who both had tear stains on their cheeks. "Looks like we have some unwanted guests," he said bitterly before looking down at Clary, who was breathing heavily. "For another time I guess, but," he said, bending down and grabbing her chin roughly. "This will happen eventually whether you like it or not."

Clary flinched away in response, unable to trust her voice. He released the grip that he had on her chin and opened the door violently. "I guess it's time to go end your friends' pathetic little lives, he finished, slamming and locking the door shut.

Clary was trying to regain her composure, gasping for air, trying to do anything to calm her nerves down, but she still could not move. She wanted to put her clothes back on and hide herself, but even though she tried, her arms and legs remained where they were. She shut her eyes tightly to try and force the horrible thoughts that were running through her mind to go away as she bit her bottom lip; she could feel _every _place where Sebastian had touched her like needles in her skin. She tried to keep the tears in, but as soon as one more escaped her closed eyes she let everything out. Tears were fully streaming down her face and she could faintly hear Jace in the background saying her name over and over, but she couldn't hear anything past the ringing sound in her ears.

* * *

><p>Magnus faintly reached down and touched Alec's hand hesitantly as they walked around Lake Lyn. Alec looked up surprised and gave him a questioning look. "Magnus?" Alec asked in a whisper. Alec turned around to see if Isabelle and Simon were watching them, but saw them a little ways away in the distance; Simon was clutching onto Isabelle's shoulders.<p>

"I have to tell you the truth," Magnus said, not meeting Alec's eyes as they continued walking, never once stopping.

"Truth about what?" Alec asked, confused.

"About," he replied, breathing in. "About how I really feel about you,"

Alec opened his mouth a little bit in astonishment and clutched onto his hand harder, scared that he would let go. "I don't know if this is really the time or the place, Magnus," he whispered back sharply.

"No," Magnus said confidently. "It probably isn't, but if I don't say this now I probably never will."

Alec didn't respond, which told Magnus to keep talking. His mouth was still slightly open as he watched Magnus in astonishment. "Alexander, you hurt me," he started, his voice wavering a bit. "I'm not going to deny that fact. You went behind my back and tried to take my life, without really knowing what you were doing. You trusted _Camille, _out of all people, too. How am I supposed to forgive you for that?" Alec looked at him and his eyes grew wider. This is not what he thought that Magnus would say at all by the way that he was previously acting. He almost tripped over the gravel rocks from the confusion of what was coming out of the love of his life's mouth. "But then when I'm sitting at my home alone with Chairman Meow and I'm trying to convince myself that I _should_ hate you, that I _should_ want to never speak to you again, I realize that I could never stop loving you. I _tried_ to hate you Alec, and I just couldn't. I _tried _to plan all of these horrible things to say to you, but in the end, all I really wanted to tell you was that _I missed you._" He ended quickly, gasping for air.

Alec opened his mouth wider as if to say something, but when he took his next step, he heard the sound of metal instead of the sound of gravel under his feet. He stopped, looked down, and then turned to Magnus. "Did you hear that?"

Magnus bent down and rapped his knuckles over the spot where Alec had just walked, and created an echoing noise. He began pushing the gravel out of the way, little pebbles flying in different directions, to reveal a small metal door hidden within the ground. He pulled on the handle and found out quickly that it was locked. "This has to be it," he mumbled to himself.

He stood up beside Alec and flew his hands up in the air, motioning for Isabelle and Simon to come. As soon as their eyes met the boys' they started running in their direction. "Does one of you have you stele?" Magnus asked, looking at Isabelle and Alec. "It's locked," he continued, motioning to the door. "And I don't want to waste my energy in case we have to fight down there," he finished, gesturing his head towards the door.

"I do," Isabelle replied, nodding. She drew out her stele from her weapons belt and started drawing on the door; light emanating from her underneath her fingertips. After she drew the opening rune she placed her stele back and opened the door with a tight grip on the metal handle.

Once the door was open she stood up and stepped back to stand in line with the others, who were all looking down. There was a staircase and a few dim lights that led all the way down deeper into the earth. "Okay," Isabelle said, sighing. "Let's go and see what's down there."

Simon grabbed Isabelle's arm before she could even take her first step. "Wait," he said, looking between everyone as he spoke. "It can't be this easy," he whispered. "Sebastian's smarter than that."

"Well we can't just stand up here and do nothing if they are actually down there," Alec said. "Besides, do you really think that he would leave whatever is down there, unguarded?" He asked, looking at Simon and pointing towards the open door. "We should all get ready to fight. I'm not expecting it to be this easy either."

They all nodded their heads, and one by one made their way down the open staircase. Alec tried to focus his mind on the task at hand. He knew his mind should be on Jace and getting his friend's back, but after his conversation with Magnus, his mind was focused on his cat eyes that glowed in the dark, shining brighter than the dim lights that were hung on the walls.

**_Hope you enjoyed chapter eight! I am sorry about this being a bit late, but I know most of you can understand that life is busy! I will try to get the next chapter up by next week! (AND I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE HORIZONTAL LINE! *bows*)_**

**_Review, review, review! I love the input and it inspires me to write faster. The faster you review the faster Jace and Clary could be saved. ;)_**

**_I know you all love me. _**


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